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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Boston  Library  Consortium  Member  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/boston1822to192200kore 


Boston,  1822  to  1922 


The   Story   of   Its   Government 


and 


Principal   Activities 

During  One  Hundred  Years 


By  John  Koren 


City  of  Boston  Printing  Department 
1923 


City  of  Boston, 
In  City  Council,  June  25,  1923. 

Ordered,  That  the  Superintendent  of  Printing  be  hereby  author- 
ized to  print  a  special  edition  of  two  thousand  copies,  bound  in 
cloth,  of  the  "Centennial  History  of  Boston,"  and  that  the 
expense  of  the  same  be  charged  to  the  appropriation  for  City 
Documents. 

Further  ordered,  That  this  edition  shall  be  distributed  under 
the  direction  of  the  Statistics  Department,  and  that  any  income 
received  through  such  distribution  be  credited  to  the  appropria- 
tion mentioned  above. 

Passed. 

Approved  by  the  Mayor,  June  26,  1923. 

Attest : 

W.  J.   Doyle, 

Assistant  City  Clerk. 


151511  4 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Introductory        .....                ....            5 

The  Winning  of  the  Charter     . 

6 

Boston  and  the  Commonwealth 

16 

The  Mayors  of  Boston 

19 

Public  Health 

67 

Police  Protection         .... 

75 

Fire  Protection 

85 

Water  Supply      .        .        .        . 

94 

The  Public  Schools     .... 

102 

The  Public  Library     .... 

"3 

Public  Grounds,  Parks  and  Recreation 

118 

Public  Lands 

(^2Q> 

Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions 

•   (   I53K 

Street  Betterment       .... 

132 

Sewer  Improvements 

161 

Street  Lighting 

165 

Rapid  Transit 

168 

The  Ferry  Service       .... 

172 

Bridges 

175 

Public  Markets 

177 

Licenses  and  the  License  Board 

179 

Soldiers'  Relief    .        .        .        .  • 

181 

The  Finance  Commission  . 

182 

Suffolk  County 

184 

Boston  and  Its  Commerce 

190 

The  George  Robert  White  Fund 

19s 

The  Population  of  Boston 

@p 

The  Present  City  Government 

fi99> 

Statistical  Tables 

205 

INTRODUCTORY. 


Hitherto  the  story  of  Boston  as  a  municipality  since 
its  inception  in  1822,  with  its  changing  forms  of  govern- 
ment and  its  multitudinous  activities  for  the  better- 
ment of  conditions  of  living,  has  not  been  told  con- 
nectedly. To  set  forth  this  story  briefly  and  simply 
is  attempted  in  the  following  pages. 

The  frame  work  is  strictly  limited  to  tracing  the 
development  and  undertakings  of  the  City  of  Boston 
for  a  century,  under  successive  city  administrations. 
The  things  that  have  been  done  on  private  initiative 
to  enrich  and  beautify  the  city,  to  bring  light  and 
happiness  to  its  poor  and  rich  inhabitants  alike  through 
the  arts  and  educational  opportunities,  the  place  the 
city  has  in  the  history  of  our  country,  both  in  peace 
and  war,  and  much  else,  lie  wholly  without  our  province. 
All  these  things  have  been  told  in  many  books  to  which 
one  must  look  for  romance  and  historical  narrative  of 
a  general  kind. 

Yet  the  story  of  municipal  affairs  is  not  without 
deep  interest,  for  it  is  full  of  adventures  and  misadven- 
tures. Above  all,  the  municipal  story  of  Boston  is 
creditable,  despite  those  who  during  the  hundred  years 
have  been  the  detractors  rather  than  the  promoters 
of  upright  city  administration.  Those  who  read  this 
centennial  municipal  story  may  still  apply  to  Boston 
the  words  of  Emerson: 

"Let  her  stand  fast  by  herself.  She  has  grown  great. 
She  is  filled  with  strangers,  but  she  can  only  prosper 
by  adhering  to  her  faith.  Let  every  child  that  is 
born  of  her  and  every  child  of  her  adoption  see  to  it 
to  keep  the  name  of  Boston  as  clean  as  the  sun;  and 
in  distant  ages  her  motto  shall  be  the  prayer  of  millions 
on  all  the  hills  that  gird  the  town,  'As  with  our  Fathers, 
so  God  be  with  us.'     Sicut  Patribus,  Sit  Deus  Nobis!" 

Note. —  This  story  of  Boston  as  a  municipality  during  a  hundred  years  lays 
no  claim  to  profound  original  research.  The  material  used  is  for  the  greater 
part  to  be  found  in  the  public  documents  of  the  city  and  certain  publications 
drawn  from  them.  Therefore  no  footnotes  have  been  supplied  indicating 
sources,  and  no  bibliography  has  been  prepared  in  view  of  the  many  lists 
already  existing  and  easily  accessible. 

In  form  and  method  of  presentation,  the  story  will  be  sufficiently  novel  to 
those  who  wish  to  trace  Boston's  beginning  and  development  into  a  great  city. 


i822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


THE   WINNING   OF   THE   CHARTER. 


For  192  years  after  its  foundation,  Boston  remained 
under  the  town  form  of  government,  which  in  the 
course  of  time  had  undergone  many  modifications, 
the  while  it  had  grown  from  a  straggling  village  to  a 
thriving  seaport  of  about  forty-five  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, who  dwelt  chiefly  between  Beacon  Hill  and  the 
waterfront.  Amid  many  vicissitudes,  Boston  had  be- 
come the  life-center  of  New  England,  its  great  mart, 
the  principal  seat  of  industry,  the  port  of  entry  and 
departure  of  ships  that  plied  every  sea.  In  learning 
and  the  arts  its  first  rank  was  undisputed.  Boston  in 
1 82 1  has  been  truthfully  described  as  the  "most  popu- 
lous and  illustrious  town  in  the  world." 

But  the  machinery  of  government,  although  it  had 
become  more  and  more  highly  organized,  had  not  kept 
pace  with  the  external  growth  of  the  town.  Years 
before  Boston  adopted  its  first  city  charter,  men  had 
become  dissatisfied  with  the  unwieldy  and  archaic 
forms  of  the  many  semi-independent  boards  that  had 
jurisdiction  over  local  affairs  and  had  been  called  into 
being,  not  according  to  a  well-conceived  plan  looking 
to  the  future,  but  to  meet  incidental  emergencies  or 
immediate  needs.  No  less  than  four  plans  for  incor- 
poration as  a  city  had  been  submitted  to  the  voters  — 
in  1784,  1792,  1804  and  1815.  But  so  tenaciously  did 
the  people  at  large  cling  to  the  old  form  of  government 
that  each  of  these  charter  proposals  was,  in  turn, 
defeated  mostly  by  large  majorities,  although  the  one 
of  1 815  failed  of  adoption  by  but  thirty-one  votes.  It 
has  been  cited  by  the  third  Mayor  Quincy  as  a  curious 
coincidence  that  of  the  two  plans  submitted  in  1784 
by  a  committee,  which  included  Samuel  Adams  and 
James  Sullivan,  the  first  proposed  a  city  government 
consisting  of  thirty-eight  members,  the  exact  number 
provided  for  by  an  act  of  1897.  The  alternate  plan 
would  have  a  single  body  elected  one  third  at  large 


The  Winning  op  the  Charter.  7 

and  two  thirds  by  wards,  which  again  was  the  basis  of 
election  brought  forward  in  1897. 

Throughout  the  struggle  over  the  question  of  incor- 
poration, its  advocates  had  been  moved  chiefly  by  two 
considerations.  One  was  that  of  practical  necessity; 
the  town  had  grown  too  large  to  be  managed  by  direct 
government.  Indeed,  several  modifications  of  the  old 
government  had  been  put  into  effect.  Already  in 
1799  the  method  of  ward  elections  for  certain  purposes 
had  been  introduced.  And  in  18 13,  a  de  facto  town 
council  had  been  created  to  choose  the  city  treasurer 
and  the  collector  of  taxes.  It  consisted  of  the  select- 
men, the  members  of  the  board  of  health  and  the 
overseers  of  the  poor  —  in  all  thirty-three  members, — 
who  also  formed  a  committee  on  finance.  These  inno- 
vations were  among  the  beginnings  of  a  change  from 
direct  to  representative  government.  Boston  had 
grown  too  large  for  a  rule  of  pure  democracy,  which 
implies  that  the  people  themselves  constitute  the 
government. 

Perhaps  a  weightier  reason  for  seeking  the  incorpo- 
ration of  Boston  as  a  city  was  the  tangled  relations  of 
the  town  to  the  County  of  Suffolk.  The  trouble  was 
of  ancient  date,  for  at  the  very  establishment  of  Suffolk 
County  ( 1643)  it  had  been  given  a  county  court  endowed 
with  jurisdiction  over  several  matters  directly  affect- 
ing the  towns  within  its  borders,  including  Boston. 
Thus  it  was  required  that  all  orders  and  by-laws  of 
towns  should  be  approved  by  the  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions,  as  it  was  called.  This  court  also  had  author- 
ity to  assess  county  taxes,  to  discontinue  highways, 
license  innholders,  locate  distilleries,  etc.,  and  to 
appoint  certain  local  officials.  While  Suffolk  County 
consisted  of  a  large  district  outside  of  Boston,  includ- 
ing Roxbury,  Dorchester,  what  is  now  Norfolk  County, 
and  even  a  part  of  Worcester  County,  there  may  have 
been  ample  reason  for  giving  the  court  executive 
powers  that  for  certain  purposes  placed  it  above  the 
selectmen  of  the  towns.  But  the  law  remained  in 
force  until  1822,  when  Suffolk  County  consisted  merely 
of  the  towns  of  Boston  and  Chelsea.  The  county 
taxes,  to  which  Boston  contributed  about  99  per  cent, 


8  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

were  levied  and  spent  under  the  direction  of  the  jus- 
tices of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  over  whom  the 
town  of  Boston  had  no  control  since  they  were  ap- 
pointees of  the  Governor;  and  there  were  other  griev- 
ances against  the  county  rule. 

The  administration  of  justice  had  become  complex 
and  defective.  It  was  divided  among  three  courts; 
that  of  Quarter  Sessions,  a  Municipal  Court,  espe- 
cially created  for  adjudicating  violations  of  town  ordi- 
nances, and  a  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  known  as  the 
Town  Court.  The  conditions  had  grown  so  bad  that 
the  committee  report  on  incorporation,  which  was 
submitted  in  1821,  felt  constrained  to  say,  "The 
present  mode  of  administering  justice  in  the  first 
stages  is  attended  with  many  and  growing  abuses; 
and  although  they  have  already  attained  to  a  very 
considerable  extent,  they  must,  unless  prevented  by  an 
entire  change  in  the  system,  produce  eventually  the 
most  mischievous  and  immoral  consequences."  So  it 
was  in  part  the  feeling  that  a  municipal  form  of  govern- 
ment, which  would  necessitate  a  reorganization  of 
the  courts  and  might  correct  the  abuses  in  the  admin- 
istration of  justice,  that  accelerated  the  movement  for 
a  city  charter. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  the  town  meeting  held  on 
October  22,  1821,  instructed  a  committee  to  "report 
to  the  town,  at  a  future  meeting,  a  complete  system 
relating  to  the  administration  of  the  town  and  county 
which  shall  remedy  the  present  evils."  The  com- 
mittee made  its  report  in  December  and  was  there- 
upon enlarged  and  instructed  "to  report  a  system 
of  Municipal  Government  for  this  town,  with  such 
powers,  privileges  and  immunities,  as  are  contemplated 
by  the  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  authorizing 
the  General  Court  to  constitute  the  City  Govern- 
ments." It  should  be  explained  that  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  held  in  1820  had,  by  a  slight  major- 
ity, adopted  an  amendment  permitting  the  General 
Court  to  incorporate  towns  containing  12,000  inhabi- 
tants as  cities.  When  this  amendment  had  been 
secured,  the  final  committee  was  appointed  and  in- 
structed as   above.     Among  its  members  wrere   John 


The  Winning  op  the  Charter.  9 

Phillips,  then  President  of  the  Senate  and  afterwards 
the  first  Mayor  of  Boston;  Josiah  Quincy,  then 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  later 
the  second  Mayor;  Lemuel  Shaw,  subsequently  the 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Commonwealth;  and  Daniel 
Webster.  After  a  debate  lasting  three  days,  during 
which  the  committee  report  was  amended  in  important 
respects,  the  charter  petition  was  accepted  on  Janu- 
ary 7,  1822,  by  a  vote  of  2,805  Yeas  to  2,006  nays.  A 
separate  vote  taken  on  the  question  whether  Boston 
should  be  a  county  by  itself  was  practically  unani- 
mous in  the  affirmative.  The  General  Court  passed 
the  act  of  incorporation  promptly;  it  was  approved 
by  the  Governor  on  February  23,  1822;  and  the  act, 
known  as  the  First  Charter,  was  accepted  by  the  town 
on  March  4,  1822,  by  a  vote  of  2,797  yeas  to  1,881 
nays.  By  this  vote  Boston  became  the  first  city  in 
the  Commonwealth  as  well  as  the  largest;  indeed, 
it  was  the  only  city  in  Massachusetts  until  the  incor- 
poration of  Salem  in  1835. 

The  Charter  of  1822. 

The  deep  changes  wrought  by  the  first  charter  stand 
out  vividly  when  one  contrasts  the  cumbersome  official- 
dom, which  had  grown  up  under  the  town  system  of 
government,  with  the  city  form  of  administration. 
The  last  town  meeting  elected  the  following  officials: 
"Seven  Selectmen,  who  also  served  as  surveyors  of 
highways;  a  Town  Clerk;  a  School  Committee  of 
12;  12  Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  of  the  Workhouse; 
30  Firewards;  20  Surveyors  of  Boards  and  other 
Lumber;  6  Fence  Viewers;  6  Cullers  of  Hoops  and 
Staves;  9  Cullers  of  Dry  Fish;  4  Hogreeves,  Hay- 
wards  and  Field  Drivers;  3  Inspectors  of  Lime;  2 
Surveyors  of  Hemp;  2  Surveyors  of  Wheat;  and  2 
Assay  Masters.  Besides,  there  were  chosen  by  each 
ward  12  members  of  the  Board  of  Health;  24  Assistant 
Assessors,  2  for  each  ward."  These  officials  were  chosen 
annually  at  ward  meetings  presided  over  by  the 
wardens,  who  themselves  were  elective  officers.  The 
principal  assessors  were  chosen  in  convention  by  the 


io  1822 — 'Boston — 1922. 

24  assistant  assessors.  The  financial  policy  and  affairs 
of  the  town  were  largely  controlled  by  the  Selectmen, 
Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  Board  of  Health,  as  a  stand- 
ing committee  on  finance,  which  chose  the  town  treas- 
urer at  an  annual  convention.  As  a  rule,  the  town 
treasurer  was  also  the  collector  of  taxes.  At  the  last 
town  meeting  held  in  Boston  there  were  elected,  in  all, 
112  officers  besides  those  appointed  by  the  Selectmen 
or  elected  by  each  ward. 

The  first  city  charter  provided  for  the  election  of  a 
Mayor,  eight  aldermen,  chosen  at  large,  forty-eight 
members  of  the  Common  Council,  four  from  each 
ward,  besides  other  elective  officers  referred  to  else- 
where. The  City  Council,  or  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men, selected  the  other  necessary  officials.  City  and 
county  finances  were  placed  under  a  single  treasurer. 
The  county  courts  ceased  to  have  a  veto  power  over 
ordinances;  but  the  General  Court  reserved  the  right 
to  annul  any  ordinance  not  meeting  with  its  approval. 
The  financial,  executive  and  administrative  powers 
of  the  city  government  were  thus  vested,  partly,  in 
the  Board  of  Mayor  and  Aldermen  and  partly  in  the 
City  Council,  and  to  be  exercised  by  concurrent  vote 
of  both  branches.  Departmental  heads  were  gener- 
ally elected  by  the  City  Council.  The  Mayor  had  in 
reality  very  little  power  except  to  appoint  committees. 
He  presided  over  the  Board  of  Aldermen  which, 
together  with  him,  constituted  a  single  board  known 
as  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen.  The  charter  had  not 
omitted  to  admonish  the  Mayor  to  be  "vigilant  and 
active  at  all  times  in  causing  the  laws  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  said  city  to  be  duly  executed  and 
put  in  force  ...  to  cause  all  negligence,  care- 
lessness and  positive  violation  of  duty  to  be  duly 
prosecuted  and  punished."  But  the  charter,  almost 
in  a  spirit  of  irony,  neglected  to  give  him  the  necessary 
powers. 

The  new  charter  did  not  yield  the  practical^results 
so  confidently  expected  by  its  advocates^  _and  for 
obvious  reason:  It  was,  in  fact,  not  an  effort  to  estab- 
lish a  new  fdrrnof  government,  but  simply  mteuded  to 
perpetuate,   so  far  as  possible,  thlT  old  regime  in  an 


The  Winning  of  the  Charter.  ii 

atterii]Dt__to__£^  control. 

The  Mayor  had  no  power  to  appoint  or~remove  orn- 
cials,  no  veto  over  municipal  legislation  and,  in  general, 
no  control  of  the  executive  work  of  the  city  except 
indirectly  through  his  veto  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen 
and  the  power  to  appoint  committees.  Only  one 
Mayor,  the  first  Josiah  Quincy,  tried  to  overcome 
these  charter  weaknesses  by  placing  himself  at  the 
head  of  all  the  important  committees  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen.  By  this  means  he  familiarized  himself  with 
all  the  details  of  administration  and  assumed  greater 
responsibility  than  the  charter  implied.  Although 
Mayor  Quincy  accomplished  great  things  for  the  city 
as  its  chief  magistrate,  he  overstepped  the  limits  of 
the  charter  which  led  to  severe  criticism  and  abuse 
by  the  non -progressive  elements  among  the  citizens. 
The  mayors  following  him  were  content  to  act  within 
the  narrow  sphere  prescribed  by  the  charter,  with  the 
result  that,  until  1885,  the  administration  of  Boston 
was  practically  in  the  hands  of  the  committees  of  the 
City  Council. 

The  Charter  of  1854. 

Aside  from  the  inherent  weaknesses  of  the  first 
charter,  the  changing  conditions  eventually  made  it 
necessary  to  improve  the  form  of  government  given 
the  city.  Population  had  greatly  increased;  Boston 
was  no  longer  a  mere  seaport  of  local  importance, 
but  had  become  the  distributing  point  for  the  indus- 
tries of  New  England;  and  better  means  of  communi- 
cation and  transportation  had  placed  it  in  touch  with 
the  whole  country.  The  ' '  long  winter  of  New  England 
isolation"  had  passed;  other  states  and  cities  devel- 
oped with  amazing  rapidity,  and  Boston  was  drawn 
closer  to  them.  Moreover,  immigration  had  intro- 
duced new  elements  of  religion  and  race,  so  that  the 
life  of  the  inhabitants  grew  increasingly  more  complex ; 
their  interests  became  more  and  more  diversified;  and 
new  ideals  loomed  up.  All  these  developments  helped 
to  accentuate  the  demand  for  better  city  service  and 
a  more  liberal  expenditure  for  municipal  undertakings. 

These  and  other  considerations  led  to  a  refraining 


12  .        iS22  — Boston — 1922. 

of  the  charter,  yet  very  few  material  changes  were 
made.  The  Mayor  was  placed  outside  the  Board  of 
Aldermen  and  given  a  qualified  veto  over  the  acts  of 
the  City  Council,  or  either  branch  of  it,  in  regard  to 
expenditure  of  money;  but  a  two  thirds  vote  enabled 
the  Council  to  pass  a  bill  over  the  Mayor's  veto. 
He  could  not  disapprove  separate  items  in  an  appro- 
priation order  or  a  loan  bill,  but  was  given  a  certain 
power  to  remove  officials,  their  election  being  entrusted 
as  heretofore  to  the  City  Council.  The  old  govern- 
ment by  committees  remained.  In  brief,  the  Mayor, 
under  the  charter  of  1854,  had  little  more  than  advisory 
power. 

The  Charter  Amendments  of  1885. 

The  urgent  reasons  for  a  revision  in  the  form  of 
government  which  led  to  the  charter  of  1854  became 
even  more  pressing  within  the  next  thirty  years. 
The  different  Mayors  until  that  time  had  all  taken 
occasion  to  advocate  a  separation  of  the  executive 
business  of  the  city  from  the  legislative.  The  mingling 
of  the  two  had  become  intolerable. 

The  charter  of  1885  took  the  form  of  a  few  short 
amendments  by  which  all  the  executive  powers  of  the 
municipality  were  transferred  to  the  Mayor,  to  be 
administered  by  the  officials  and  boards  of  the  various 
departments,  under  the  supervision  and  control  of  the 
Mayor.  Thus  these  officials  and  boards  were  given 
the  general  direction  and  control  of  all  the  executive 
and  administrative  business  of  Boston. 

The  City  Council  was  expressly  prohibited  from 
interfering  in  any  manner  with  the  work  of  the  execu- 
tive in  the  way  of  employing  labor,  making  contracts, 
purchasing  materials,  etc.  The  amendments,  further- 
more, gave  the  Mayor  authority  to  appoint  all  officials 
and  members  of  boards  except  the  City  Clerk,  Clerk 
of  Committees  and  City  Messenger,  but  made  all 
appointments  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  Board 
of  Aldermen.  He  was  also  given  the  power  of  removal 
for  cause.  Departments  were  prohibited  from  exceed- 
ing   the    appropriations    made    for    them.      All    con- 


The  Winning  of  the  Charter.  13 

tracts  for  public  work  required  the  approval  of  the 
Mayor,  who  also  had  the  right  to  veto  any  order  passed 
by  the  City  Council  and  disapprove  increases  in  loan 
bills  and  appropriations.  Such  orders  could,  how- 
ever, be  passed  over  the  Mayor's  veto  by  a  two  thirds 
vote  of  the  City  Council.  The  Mayor  was  not  to  be 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  or  of  the  School 
Committee,  nor  could  he  appoint  any  of  the  committees 
of  these  two  bodies. 

To  sum  up,  the  charter  amendments  of  1885  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Mayor  the  entire  charge  of  and 
responsibility  for  the  conduct  of  the  executive  business 
of  the  city. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  theory  of  substituting 
the  one-man  power  of  the  Mayor  for  the  control  of 
city  affairs  by  committees,  the  latter  has  proved  im- 
practicable and  dangerous  in  this  country.  It  was, 
in  fact,  distrust  of  common  councils  and  their  com- 
mittees to  carry  on  the  executive  business  of  the  munic- 
ipal administration  honestly  and  effectively  which  led 
to  the  charter  changes  of  1885,  a  distrust  common  to 
municipalities  throughout  the  United  States. 

The  Charter  of  1909. 

The  city  administration  was  undoubtedly  improved 
by  the  charter  amendments  of  1885,  but  they  left 
much  to  be  desired.  The  provision  that  appointments 
by  the  Mayor  should  be  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  aldermen  proved  a  great  weakness.  Another 
weakness  was  that  members  of  the  City  Council  could 
not  be  penalized  for  interfering  with  the  executive 
branch  of  the  government.  They  could,  therefore, 
violate  with  impunity  the  prohibition  against  activity 
in  the  employment  of  city  labor,  concerning  contracts, 
1  the  purchase  of  materials  and,  generally,  in  all  matters 
of  public  works.  The  interference  by  the  City  Coun- 
cil had  gone  so  far  that  the  Finance  Commission  of 
1907  declared  many  of  its  ordinances  to  be  inconsistent 
with  the  statutes,  and  that  a  large  part  of  them  were 
devoted  to  things  with  which  they  were  expressly 
prohibited  to  interfere. 


i4  1822  —  Boston— 1922. 

The  Finance  Commission  of  1907,  when  entrusted 
with  the  task  of  framing  a  new  city  charter,  sought  to 
correct  the  evils  which  had  arisen  in  the  city  adminis- 
tration by  means  of  several  expedients.  A  complete 
separation  of  the  executive  and  legislative  branches 
of  government  was  sought.  The  appointments  by  the 
Mayor  were  no  longer  subject  to  confirmation  by  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  but  all  heads  of  departments 
were  to  be  certified  by  the  Civil  Service  Commission. 
A  penalty  was  imposed  for  interference  with-  executive 
business  on  the  part  of  the  City  Council.  In  regard 
to  finances,  the  new  charter  provided  that  all  appro- 
priations to  be  met  from  sources  other  than  loans 
must  originate  with  the  Mayor.  The  City  Council 
could  no  longer  increase  any  item  or  add  new  ones. 
The  Mayor  was  given  an  absolute  veto  power  over  all 
acts  of  the  City  Council,  extending  to  a  veto  of  any 
item  in  a  bill  requiring  the  expenditure  of  money  and 
to  any  part  of  an  item.  The  term  of  the  Mayor  was 
extended  to  four  years,  subject  to  recall  at  the  end  of 
two  years. 

The  new  charter  abolished  the  bi-cameral  organiza- 
tion of  the  City  Council  and  provided  that  it  should 
consist  of  but  nine  members,  to  be  elected  at  large  for 
a  term  of  three  years,  only  three  being  elected  each 
year.  An  entirely  new  charter  feature  provided  for 
the  appointment  of  a  permanent  Finance  Commis- 
sion, with  all  the  powers  of  the  first  commission,  but 
its  members  were  to  be  selected  by  the  Governor,  the 
idea  being  that  a  body  quite  independent  of  the  munici- 
pal government  would  be  able  to  serve  as  a  check  on 
waste  and  corruption.  The  charter  as  drawn  up  by 
the  Finance  Commission  of  1907  was  passed  by  the 
General  Court  of  1909,  but  its  political  features,  to  be 
submitted  to  the  voters  for  their  acceptance,  were 
divided  into  two  plans,  one  providing  for  a  single  legis- 
lative council  consisting  of  one  member  from  each 
ward,  to  be  elected  for  two  years,  and  nine  members  at 
large,  to  be  elected  for  three  years.  Also,  the  term  of 
the  Mayor  was  left  at  two  years.  The  other  plan 
contained  the  recommendation  of  the  Finance  Com- 
mission of  a  single  legislative  chamber  of  nine  mem- 


The  Winning  of  the  Charter.  15 

bers,  and  this  plan  was  adopted  by  the  voters.  The 
charter  of  1909  has  been  amended  in  some  respects, 
the  principal  changes  being  that  the  Mayor  shall  not 
be  eligible  for  re-election  for  the  succeeding  term  (that 
is,  a  term  of  four  years  must  elapse  before  a  Mayor 
can  again  become  a  candidate),  the  abolition  of  the 
recall  of  the  Mayor,  different  dates  for  elections,  and 
various  changes  of  minor  importance. 


16  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 


BOSTON    AND    THE    COMMONWEALTH. 


The  successive  charter  amendments  show  very 
clearly  a  distrust  of  the  capacity  of  the  municipal 
legislature  and  its  committees  to  conduct  the  execu- 
tive affairs  of  the  city  for  the  common  good.  The 
only  alternative  presenting  itself  has  been  to  substi- 
tute the  one-man  power  for  a  less  responsible,  or  irre- 
sponsible, city  council.  But  this  tendency  toward 
concentrating  responsibility  for  city  affairs  has  un- 
doubtedly acted  as  an  incentive  to  the  General  Court 
to  extend  its  control  over  the  municipality  of  Boston. 
Occasionally,  administrative  mishaps  or  difficulties  have 
served  as  an  excuse  for  interference. 

The  underlying  principles  upon  which  a  city  govern- 
ment is  established  are  that,  in  the  first  place,  it  is 
an  organ  for  local  self-government;  and,  secondly,  an 
administrative  agency  through  which  the  state  govern- 
ment secures  within  the  municipality  the  execution  of 
state  laws  of  general  application.  Thus  a  municipal 
corporation  has  a  two-fold  function ;  but  just  how  and 
where  the  dividing  line  between  the  authority  of  the 
city  and  that  of  the  state  should  be  drawn  has  given 
rise  to  much  dispute.  From  the  very  beginning  there 
has  been  insistence  on  the  part  of  the  municipal 
authorities  upon  a  larger  measure  of  self-government, 
or  complete  control  of  municipal  affairs.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Commonwealth  has  not  only  demanded  the 
execution  of  general  laws  within  the  city,  and  right- 
fully so,  but  has  attempted  to  make  Boston  its  mere 
agent  in  carrying  out  matters  of  purely  local  concern 
and  legislated  accordingly. 

It  is  obvious  that  in  much  of  the  city's  adminis- 
trative work, —  as  for  instance,  through  the  Board  of 
Elections,  the  Board  of  Assessors,  the  Board  of  Health, 
the  School  Committee,  etc.,  the  interests  of  the  Com- 
monwealth as  well  as  those  of  the  city  must  be  served. 
In  other  words,  some  city  departments  are  partly,  but 


Boston  and  the  Commonwealth.  17 

not  in  any  case  wholly,  concerned  with  the  execution 
of  state  laws,  while  others  are  created  simply  as  parts 
of  the  ordinary  municipal  organization  for  local  pur- 
poses. On  the  other  hand,  the  wisdom  of  establishing 
departments  like  that  of  the  Police  and  Finance  Com- 
mission as  independent  organizations  of  the  state  has 
given  rise  to  much  controversy. 

The  complaint,  however,  has  not  been  directed 
solely  against  such  extensive  usurpation  of  municipal 
authority,  but  also  against  efforts  to  control  the  depart- 
ments of  the  city  government,  and,  above  all,  against 
attempts  to  regulate  municipal  expenditures  and  tax 
limits.  If  it  cannot  be  said  that  Boston  has  been 
deprived  of  municipal  autonomy  in  having  charters 
imposed  upon  it,  since  they  have  always  been  subject 
to  the  acceptance  of  the  voters,  the  situation  is  quite 
different  when  the  more  intimate  details  of  conducting 
city  affairs,  particularly  finance,  are  concerned. 

A  glance  at  the  special  acts  affecting  the  city  of 
Boston  and  the  towns  or  cities  annexed  to  it  shows 
beyond  doubt  that  the  Commonwealth  has  legislated 
in  regard  to  matters  that  could  easily  have  been  en- 
trusted to  local  control  without  infringing  upon  its 
sovereignty,  for  they  have  been  affairs  that  could 
have  been  dealt  with  by  the  city  under  ordinary 
charter  powers.  But  it  must  be  admitted  that  a  very 
large  portion  of  the  legislative  acts  have  been  beyond 
municipal  control  because  they  involve  interests  either 
affecting  the  Commonwealth  itself  or  territories  lying 
outside  the  limits  of  Boston. 

Perhaps  the  one  feature  of  state  legislation  affecting 
the  city  of  Boston  most  disadvantageously  has  been 
the  meddling  with  its  financial  concerns.  As  Mayor 
Matthews  puts  it  in  his  valedictory  address:  "The 
treasury  of  the  city  of  Boston  is  regarded  in  many 
parts  of  the  State  as  a  fund  to  be  drawn  upon  by  com- 
pulsory legislation  for  the  benefit  of  the  smaller  towns ; 
and  many  of  the  representatives  from  this  city  make  it 
their  habitual  concern  to  introduce  and  advocate 
bills  for  the  transfer  of  portions  of  the  city's  money  for 
the  benefit  of  special  interests  and  classes.  The  result 
is  that  during  the  annual  sessions  of  the  Legislature  a 


i8  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

large  part  of  the  work  of  governing  this  city  must  be 
transacted  at  the  State  House  in  the  advocacy  of  needed 
reforms,  and  in  defence  of  the  city  treasury  against 
agrarian  and  class  legislation." 

It  may  be  noted,  by  the  way,  that  the  special  acts 
relating  to  the  city  of  Boston  which  have  been  passed 
by  the  General  Court  from  1822  to  1908  (taking  no 
account  of  later  years  during  which  the  acts  have  been 
published  separately)  cover  more  than  thirteen  hun- 
dred pages,  in  two  bound  volumes,  and  include  almost 
every  topic  that  can  be  mentioned  under  the  head  of 
municipal  administration.  The  most  recent  tendency 
seems  to  be  toward  a  keener  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
General  Court  to  prescribe  ways  and  means  ofj[con- 
ducting  Boston's  city  administration. 


Mayors  of  Boston. 


19 


MAYORS   OF   BOSTON   FROM    1822   TO    1922. 


John  Phillips. 

Born  in  Boston,  November  26,  1770;  died  May  29, 
1823;  served  during  1822. 

A  service  of  twenty-five  years  in  the  General  Court, 
during  ten  of  which  he  was 
president  of  the  Senate,  well 
qualified  John  Phillips  for 
the  new  office  of  Mayor  of 
Boston.  He  had  also  served 
for  many  years  as  town 
advocate  and  public  prose- 
cutor. He  has  been  de- 
scribed as  a  man  "of  a 
rather  pliable  disposition, 
but  of  strict  integrity  and 
general  good  judgment." 
/Conservative  tend eiic i e s 
led  him_  to  preserve  as 
much  of__the  ancient  regimeas  possible ;  and  it  was 
well,  for  it  made  the  transitioh~To~a  city. government 
so  much  easier.'  His  activities  were  mainly  confined 
to  the  organization  of  the  administrative  machinery 
created  by  the  first  city  charter.  Men  who  had  been 
instrumental  in  securing  it,  and  expected  radical 
changes  at  once,  showed  some  dissatisfaction  with  the 
administration  of  Mayor  Phillips,  but  his  conservative 
course  was  an  asset  rather  than  a  hindrance  in  laying 
the  proper  foundations  for  a  city  government. 

It  is  of  interest  to  observe  that  at  the  very  first 
election  of  a  mayor  political  feeling  ran  high.  Josiah 
Quincy  was  an  avowed  candidate  for  the  office,  like- 
wise Harrison  Gray  Otis.  Both  finally  withdrew  their 
names  after  an  acrimonious  campaign  full  of-  charges 
and  counter-charges,  and  left  the  field  open  for  John 
Phillips.  The  latter' s  delicate  health  made  him  refuse 
a  second  term,  the  mayors  at  that  time  being  chosen 
annually. 


20 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


JOSIAH   QUINCY. 

Born  in  Boston,  February  4,  1772;  died  July  1,  1864; 
served  during  1823-28. 

No  one  had  taken  a  greater  interest  in  town  affairs 

than  Josiah  Quincy.  It  fell 
to  him  to  preside  at  the 
last  town,'  meeting  held  in 
Faneuil  ^Hall,  and  those 
who  wanted  an  energetic 
Mayor,  ready  to  take  full 
advantage    of   the   powers 


under  the  city  government, 
found  in  Josiah  Quincy  a 
man  admirably  suited  for 
the  task.  He  has  deserv- 
edly been  called  the  Great 
Mayor,  setting  a  standard 
of  purpose  and  execution 
which  has  rarely  been  equalled. 

Josiah  Quincy's  term  of  administration  covered  a 
period  of  six  years  marked  by  lively  controversies  and 
the  accomplishment  of  many  important  measures,  in 
spite  of  the  charter  limitations  under  which  the  Mayor 
had  to  act.  In  order  to  secure  the  widest  possible 
power,  Quincy  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  all 
the  committees  of  the  Board  of  Mayor  and  Aldermen, 
and  did  so  without  antagonizing  his  associates  in  a 
disturbing  degree. 

t,  Among  the  achievements  under  Quincy's  adminis- 
tration were  the  great  extention  of  Faneuil  Hall  for 
market  purposes,  and  the  reorganization  of  the  de- 
partments of  Health,  Fire,  and  Charitable  and  Correc- 
tional Institutions.  He  also  placed  the  Police  De- 
partment on  a  better  footing  and  abolished  the  Board 
of  Surveyors  of  Highways.  Indeed,  Josiah  Quincy's 
interests  covered  all  kinds  of  municipal  activities.  He 
was  exceedingly  concerned  on  behalf  of  the  public 
schools.  Already  prior  to  the  organization  of  Boston 
as  a  city  he  had  given  much  attention  to  the  care  of 
the  poor,  and,  on  becoming  Mayor,  put  into  effect 
several  important  measures  for  their  welfare  as  well 
as  for  that  of  prisoners. 


Mayors  of  Boston. 


21 


A  memorable  event  in  Quincy's  administration  was 
the  official  visit  of  General  Lafayette  to  Boston. 

When  his  last  year  of  office  drew  to  a  close,  Quincy 
had  aroused  a  feeling  of  bitterness  and  even  of  malig- 
nancy on  the  part  of  many  influential  voters,  whose 
private  interests  had  suffered  through  his  reform 
measures,  and  who  could  not  forget  the  increased 
expenditures  due  to  the  many  improvements  under- 
taken. In  addition,  he  had  the  low  elements  against 
him  because  he  enforced  laws  relating  to  gambling, 
prostitution,  and  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors.  In 
spite  of  all  vilification,  no  charge  could  be  brought 
against  Mayor  Quincy  affecting  his  personal  and 
official  integrity.  He  was  a  strong  man  and  had  used 
his  power  to  the  advantage  of  the  city,  if  perhaps  ruth- 
lessly at  times.  Although  Mayor  Quincy  stood  for 
re-election  in  1828,  he  failed  to  receive  a  majority  of  all 
the  votes  cast  both  on  the  first  and  second  ballots. 
He  then  withdrew  his  name,  stating  that  "no  considera- 
tion would  induce  him  again  to  accept  the  office." 


Harrison  Gray  Otis. 

Born  in  Boston  October  8,  1765;    died  October  28, 
1848;   served  during  1829-31. 

From  early  manhood,  Mr.  Otis  had  been  prominent 
in  public  affairs.  In  his  first 
inaugural  address,  he  rec- 
ommended the  establish- 
ment of  railroad  communi- 
cation with  the  Hudson 
river.  His  administration 
was  not  remarkable  for  any 
extension  of  municipal  ac- 
tivities. Rather,  his  in- 
cumbency marked  a  period 
of  retrenchment  made  nec- 
essary by  general  financial 
conditions.  There  had  been 
a  decline  in  the  valuation  of 
assessed  property,  and  the  City  of  Boston,  which 
counted  a  population  of  over  sixty-one  thousand  at 
the  census  of   1830,   suffered  from  a  depression  that 


22  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

Mayor  Otis  attributed  to  "  over-capitalization  in  manu- 
factures." On  his  recommendation,  the  Old  State 
House  was  renovated  in  order  to  provide  accommoda- 
tions for  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  Common  Council  and 
other  officials.  They  took  possession  on  September 
17,  1830,  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  settle- 
ment of  the  town.  Former  Mayor  Josiah  Quincy,  who 
meanwhile  had  become  president  of  Harvard  College, 
delivered  the  address  of  the  day.  During  the  pre- 
ceding administrations  the  city  government  had  been 
housed  in  the  Old  Stone  Court  House  on  School  street. 
On  the  initiative  of  Mayor  Otis,  during  the  last  year 
of  his  administration,  the  General  Court  passed  an 
act  which  vested  all  the  property  of  Suffolk  County  in 
the  City  of  Boston.  Thereafter  Boston  was  to  pro- 
vide and  maintain  all  the  county  buildings  and  to  pay 
the  county  charges.  If  the  administration  of  Mayor 
Otis  was  not  remarkable  for  any  special  advance  in 
municipal  government,  he  must  be  said  to  have  fully 
maintained  the  standards  set  by  Mayor  Quincy. 


Charles  Wells. 

Born  in  Boston,  December  30,   1786;    died  June  3, 
1866;  served  during  183 2-3 3 . 
In  1 83 1,  two  elections  were  held  for  the  purpose  of 

selecting  a  mayor.  In  the 
first  election,  the  contest 
lay  between  Charles  Wells, 
William  Sullivan  and  Theo- 
dore Lyman,  Jr. ;  in  the 
second,  it  narrowed  to  one 
between  Wells  and  Lyman. 
Charles  Wells  won  and 
served  two  terms.  He  had 
been  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mon Council  and  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  but  he 
did  not  come  from  the  same 
social  stratum  that  had 
contributed  the  previous  mayors,  his  occupation  being 
that  of  a  master  builder.  His  election  has  been  de- 
scribed as  a  protest  by  the  middle  class  against  "exces- 


Mayors  or  Boston. 


23 


sive"  expenditures  inaugurated  by  Quincy  and  main- 
tained by  Otis.  Mayor  Wells'  administration  was,  on 
the  whole,  featureless,  except  that  expenditures  con- 
tinued to  rise  and  with  them  the  city  debt  notwith- 
standing higher  tax  rates. 

"/The  early  thirties  were  years  of  prosperity,  and  it 
was  natural  that  expenditures  should  be  indulged  in 
proportionately.  Under  Mayor  Wells,  a  new  court 
house  was  built,  some  of  the  principal  streets  extended, 
and  the  quarantine  regulations  were  more  strictly 
enforced  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  cholera  in  certain 
British  provinces. 


Theodore  Lyman,  Jr. 

Born  in  Boston,  February  19,   1792;    died  July  17, 
1849;  served  during  1834-35. 

He  has  been  described  as  a  man  "of  good  under- 
standing, enlarged  by  a 
liberal  education  and  ex- 
tensive foreign  travel. ' '  At 
all  events,  he  was  a  far- 
sighted  and  able  man.  One 
of  his  early  acts  was  to 
draw  attention  to  the  need 
of  a  better  water  supply. 
Hitherto  water  had  been 
obtained  from  Jamaica 
Pond  for  certain  parts  of 
the  city,  through  crude 
pipe  lines  which  proved 
quite  insufficient.  Efforts 
had  been  made  to  study  the  whole  subject,  but  without 
tangible  results  until  Mayor  Lyman  sent  a  message  to 
the  City  Council  about  the  water  supply,  the  Council, 
in  turn,  referring  it  to  a  committee  of  which  the  Mayor 
was  chairman.  But  in  spite  of  the  urgency  of  the 
situation,  a  number  of  years  elapsed  until  final  action 
was  taken  on  the  basis  of  recommendations  furnished 
by  Col.  Loammi  Baldwin,  an  engineer,  who  had  been 
selected  to  make  a  special  investigation  of  the  most 
available  water  supply. 

Mayor  Lyman  achieved,   among  other  things,   the 


24 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


erection  of  a  well-founded  house  of  reformation,  a 
larger  development  of  the  primary  school  system,  and 
was  much  occupied  with  street  extension  and  improve- 
ment. ''He  did  not  confine  his  attention  solely  to  the 
needs  of  Boston  in  penal  reform.  It  is  due  to  him  that 
the  State  Reform  school  at  Westboro  for  juvenile 
offenders,  the  first  institution  of  its  kind,  was  estab- 
lished (now  known  as  the  Lyman  School  for  Boys) .  To 
him  we  also  owe  a  school  of  similar  character  for  girls 
at  Lancaster.  vHe  interested  himself  in  and  was  for 
many  years  the  manager  of  the  Farm  School  for  Boys 
at  Thompson's  Island. 

Several  stirring  events  took  place  under  Lyman's 
administration.  One  was  the  destruction  of  the  Ursu- 
line  convent  by  a  mob  (see  page  76) ;  others  were  the 
demonstrations  against  the  abolition  movement, 
particularly  the  one  of  October  21,  1835  at  which 
Garrison  was  seized  by  the  mob,  and  Mayor  Lyman 
offered  his  own  body  as  a  shield  to  Garrision  against  the 
rioters. 


Samuel  Turrel  Armstrong. 

Born  in  Dorchester,  April  29,  1784;   died  March  26, 
1850;  served  during  1836. 
He    held    office    for    about    one    year.     During   his 

administration  the  new 
courthouse  in  Court 
Square  was  completed. 
For  the  rest,  the  principal 
acts  of  his  administration 
are  said  to  have  been  "the 
erection  of  an  iron  fence 
for  the  enclosure  of  three 
sides  of  the  Common,  and 
the  extension  of  the  mall 
through  the  burial  grounds 
of  Boylston  Street."  When 
he  retired  from  office,  the 
annual  expenditures  stood 
at  over  $816,000  and  a  debt  had  accrued  of  more  than 
$1,500,000.     The  tax  rate  was  then  $4.75  per  thousand. 


Mayors  of  Boston. 


25 


Samuel  Atkins  Eliot. 

Born  in  Boston,  March  5,  1798;  died  January  29, 
1862;  served  during  1837-39. 

He  was  a  Boston  merchant  of  high  character 
and  ability.  During  his 
administration  Boston  was 
again  visited  by  a  period  of 
depression  which  made  re- 
trenchment necessary  for 
the  first  two  years.  He 
did,  however,  succeed  in 
putting  through  some  im- 
portant administrative 
measures.  *  One  was  the  re- 
organization of  the  Fire 
Department,  whose  lack  of 
discipline  and  efficiency 
had  been  remarked  upon 
in  earlier  years.  During  the  Broad  Street  riot  in 
1837  (see  page  76)  the  improvements  brought  about 
by  Mayor  Eliot  came  strongly  to  the  fore.  Until  this 
time  the  firemen  had  received  no  compensation  for 
their  services  beyond  a  slight  amount  for  refreshments. 
Mayor  Eliot  saw  clearly  that  to  offer  extra  compensa- 
tion would  probably  induce  the  firemen  to  place  them- 
selves under  proper  discipline,  and  that  such  compen- 
sation should  not  be  regarded  as  a  wage  in  the  ordinary 
sense.  An  ordinance  reorganizing  the  department  and 
fixing  the  compensation  was  passed  and  went  into 
operation  in  the  fall  of  1837. 

Mayor  Eliot  did  not  succeed,  however,  in  his  plans 
for  reorganizing  the  Police  Department;  nor  did  sev- 
eral provisions  submitted  on  his  initiative  to  the  voters 
at  a  special  election  for  an  amendment  of  the  city 
charter  win  the  day. 

Mayor  Eliot,  in  his  last  inaugural  address,  recom- 
mended the  erection  of  a  new  city  hall  and  county 
jail,  but  without  achieving  results.  A  building,  how- 
ever, was  begun  for  the  offices  of  Registry  and  Probate, 
and  much  money  spent  in  widening  and   extending 


26 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


streets.  The  tax  rate  in  1839  had  to  be  raised  on 
account  of  the  great  expenditures  and  the  increase  in 
the  debt. 

Jonathan  Chapman. 

Born  in  Boston,  January  23,  1807;  died  May  25, 
1848;  served  during  1840-42. 
At  the  very  outset,  Mayor  Chapman  made  a  reduc- 
tion of  the  city  debt  his 
principal  object  as  chief 
magistrate.  He  achieved 
it  by  securing  various  re- 
trenchments, but  the  tax 
rate  was  not  reduced.  The 
city  was  not  exactly  poor, 
although  the  debt  in  eight- 
een years  had  risen  from 
$100,000  to  more  than 
$1,500,000,  for  it  owned 
extensive  property,  much 
of  which  had  been  improved. 
The  current  expenses  of  the 
city  at  the  time,  except  those  for  ordinary  purposes  and 
the  payment  of  the  city  debt,  amounted  to  about 
$425,000  annually,  of  which  nearly  a  quarter  was 
charged  to  the  public  schools. 

Mayor  Chapman  did  not  favor  the  project  of  a 
new  city  hall  for  which  land  had  been  bought,  but 
recommended  instead  that  the  old  County  Court  House 
should  be  remodeled  and  serve  as  a  city  hall.  A  new 
building  for  the  Probate  and  Registry  offices  had  been 
completed,  and  the  city  government  moved  into  its 
former  quarters  in  1841. 

The  epochal  event  during  Mayor  Chapman's  admin- 
istration was  the  establishment  of  steam  navigation 
between  Boston  and  Liverpool  in  1840.  The  occur- 
rence was  properly  celebrated  and  signalized  as  a 
commercial  improvement  assuring  great  results.  At 
the  same  time,  the  Western  Railroad  was  completed 
and  opened  connection  to  the  Hudson  river  in  184K 

Mayor  Chapman  was  the  first  head  of  the  Boston 
city  administration  who  seemed  to  have  been  much 


&£& 

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Mayors  op  Boston. 


27 


concerned  with  the  question  of  licenses  for  the  sale  of 
spirituous  liquors.  There  was  a  license  law  in  force 
at  the  time  to  which  the  Mayor  was  opposed.  Indeed, 
he  regarded  the  licensing  system  ' '  as  wrong  in  principle 
and  injurious  in  effect."  He  wished  the  public  peace 
preserved  as  well  as  public  proprieties,  but  as  to  the 
use  of  spirituous  liquors,  he  would  leave  that  to  the 
individual,  "and  above  all  to  Washingtonians"  (a 
temperance  society  of  that  day). 


Martin  Brimmer. 

Born  in  Roxbury,  June  8,  1793;  died  April  25,  1847; 
served  during  1843-44. 

He  carried  out  the  financial  policies  begun  under  his 
predecessor  and  gained  a 
further  reduction  in  the  city 
debt.  His  deep  interest  in 
public  education  was  man- 
ifested by  the  support  he 
gave  Horace  Mann  (see 
page  103).  He  was  also  a 
student  of  prison  discipline 
and  construction,  and  was 
the  first  to  suggest  the  erec- 
tion of  a  new  prison  for  the 
County  of  Suffolk  to  re- 
place the  old  Leverett 
Street  Jail. 

It  fell  to  Mayor  Brimmer  to  apply  to  the  General 
Court  for  the  necessary  authority  to  secure  a  better 
water  supply  from  ponds  in  Natick  and  Framingham, 
as  had  been  recommended  some  years  earlier  by  the 
noted  engineer,  Colonel  Baldwin. 


Thomas  Aspinwall  Davis. 

Born  in  Brookline,  December  11,  1798;  died  Novem- 
ber 22,  1845;    served  during  1845. 

He  was  a  candidate  of  a  new  political  organization 
called  the  "Native  American  Party";  meanwhile 
Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  was  the  candidate  of  the  Whigs, 
and  Adam  W.  Thaxter,  Jr.,  the  Democratic  candidate. 


28 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


It  was   not  until  a  ballot  taken  on  February  21,  1845, 
after  two   unsuccessful  attempts,  that  Davis  received 

a   bare   majority   and   was 

elected.  In  his  inaugural, 
he  took  pains  to  explain 
the  objects  of  the  Native 
American  Party,  which,  he 
said,  were  not  to  create  ani- 
mosity between  the  native 
born  and  foreign  born,  but 
"to  place  our  free  insti- 
tutions upon  such  a  basis 
that  those  who  come  after 
us,  the  descendants  both 
of  the  foreign  and  of 
the  American  citizens, 
may  be  free  and  independent." 

No  event  of  importance  happened  under  Mayor 
Davis'  short  administration.  He  sent  in  his  resigna- 
tion owing  to  ill  health  after  having  served  about  seven 
months.  It  was  not  accepted,  and  he  was  nominally 
at  the  head  of  city  affairs  until  he  died  in  November, 
1845- 

Josiah  Quincy,  Jr. 
Born  in  Boston,  January  17,  1802;    died  November 
2,  1882;  served  during  1846-48. 

At  the  time  he  took  office,  the  city  of  Boston  had 
passed  through  the  tran- 
sition period  from  town  to 
city,  not  without  many 
trials;  but  the  city  had 
gained  in  conveniences 
through  various  kinds  of 
service  and  had  prospered 
greatly  notwithstanding 
several  years  of  severe  de- 
pression. 

Josiah  Quincy,  Jr., 
showed  many  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  his  distin- 
guished father,  the  second 
Mayor  of  the  city,  and  the  same  abounding  energy. 


Mayors  of  Boston.  29 

His  first  inaugural  was  devoted  to  the  question  of 
water  supply,  and  his  clever  presentation  of  the  subject, 
his  energy  in  obtaining  the  cooperation  of  his  associates 
in  the  government  and  action  by  the  legislature,  had 
the  result  that  in  a  few  months  after  his  inauguration 
ground  was  broken  for  the  beginning  of  what  later 
became  known  as  the  Cochituate  water  supply,  the 
name  being  given  to  Long  Pond  near  Framingham. 
Three  years  later,  the  actual  introduction  of  water 
from  Lake  Cochituate  to  Boston  Common  was  cel- 
ebrated as  a  great  public  event. 

During  the  first  term,  Mayor  Quincy  had  effected 
an  organization  of  the  police  force  and  appointed  as 
city  marshal  Francis  Tukey  who  made  a  name  for 
himself  as  an  efficient  officer,  although  he  had  but  a 
very  small  force  at  his  command.  The  license  question 
continued  to  agitate  the  city  government.  The  Board 
of  Aldermen  refused  to  issue  licenses  for  the  sale  of 
intoxicating  liquors.  Still  the  mayor  was  elected  for  a 
third  term. 

Under  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  the  question  of  making 
extensive  sales  of  land  owned  by  the  city  came  up. 
Authorization  was  obtained  for  filling  a  part  of  the 
marsh  lands  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  "Neck,"  known 
as  the  South  Bay.  Here  large  tracts  of  land  were 
graded  and  made  ready  for  sale.  Before  he  retired 
from  office,  Mayor  Quincy  signed  contracts  for  the 
building  of  the  Suffolk  County  Jail  on  Cambridge  and 
Charles  Streets. 

Among  the  reforms  which  took  place  in  the  school 
system  under  Mayor  Quincy  was  the  abolition  of  the 
so-called  double-headed  system  of  school  supervision 
(see  page  104). 

In  his  last  inaugural,  Mayor  Quincy  called  attention 
to  the  habit  of  citizens  of  escaping  taxation  by  moving 
into  the  country  by  the  first  of  May.  He  said,  "Some 
of  our  wealthiest  citizens,  from  their  interests  in  agri- 
culture or  other  reasons,  find  it  convenient  to  leave  the 
city  in  the  month  of  April."  The  custom  originated 
long  before  Boston  became  a  city.  Mayor  Quincy's 
plan  for  circumventing  this  evasion  of  taxes  was  to 
change  the  time  of  assessment  on  personal  property. 


30  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

The  law  of  1852  was  expected  to  accomplish  this  end, 
but  the  hope  was  vain,  for  the  wealthy  found  other 
means  of  escaping  taxes. 


John  Prescott  Bigelow. 

Born  in  Groton,  August  25,  1797;  died  July  4,  1872; 
served  during  1849-51. 

His  administration  has  been  characterized  as  one  of 

"marked  ability  and  dis- 
cretion." The  year  prior 
to  his  election,  the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen  had  refused 
to  license  the  sale  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors.  Mayor 
Bigelow  said  that  the  at- 
tempt to  suppress  the  traf- 
fic in  this  way  had  utterly 
failed;  and  he  recom- 
mended the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  license  system. 
The  Mayor  had  the  sup- 
port of  the  grand  jury,  but 
when  a  test  case  in  regard  to  licensing  came  up  before 
the  Board  of  Aldermen,  the  Mayor  had  not  a  single 
supporter.  In  spite  of  legal  licenses,  there  was  said  to 
be  1,500  places  where  intoxicating  liquors  were  sold, 
according  to  City  Marshall  Tukey. 

Mayor  Bigelow  was  opposed  to  the  erection  of  a  new 
county  jail  recommended  by  his  predecessor,  and  for 
which  contracts  had  been  made.  But  the  Aldermen 
decided  to  proceed  with  the  work  at  a  reduced  expense. 
The  building  was  completed  in  185 1  at  an  outlay, 
including  the  site,  of  about  $450,000. 

Mayor  Bigelow,  like  his  predecessor  Quincy,  realized 
that  the  high  rate  of  taxation  made  necessary  by 
diverse  city  projects  induced  many  of  the  largest 
owners  of  personal  property  to  escape  into  the  country 
at  the  annual  period  of  taxation.  The  evil  has  grown 
since  that  time  in  spite  of  attempts  to  check  it  by 
legislative  enactment. 

The  national  census  of  1850  gave  Boston's  popula- 
tion as   136,881.      The  rapid  growth  was  due  to  the 


Mayors  op  Boston.  31 

opening  of  railroad  communication  with  the  West  and 
steamship  communication  with  the  East.  The  valua- 
tion of  all  property  within  the  city  amounted  to  $180,- 
000,500.  The  tax  levy  was  $1,237,000,  a  rate  of  $6.80 
a  thousand;  and  the  funded  debt  had  increased  to 
more  than  $6,000,000,  including  the  water  loans. 
Mayor  Bigelow  complained  of  the  heavy  burden  the 
city  had  to  bear,  but  the  new  work  developed  made  it 
impossible  to  reduce  the  outlay. 

In  the  last  year  of  his  administration,  Mayor  Bigelow 
was  able  to  state  that  every  section  of  the  city  was  sup- 
plied with  pure  water.  The  entire  cost  of  the  water 
works  amounted  to  $4,321,000.  In  the  same  year  a 
new  almshouse  on  Deer  Island  was  completed  and  the 
system  of  telegraphic  fire  alarms  introduced. 

One  of  the  events  under  Mayor  Bigelow  was  the 
attempt  to  break  up  a  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall,  called 
to  receive  George  Thompson,  then  a  member  of  the 
British  parliament,  on  his  arrival  in  this  country. 
Another  was  the  refusal  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen 
to  allow  Faneuil  Hall  to  be  used  for  a  reception  in 
honor  of  Daniel  Webster.  The  refusal  was  made  on 
the  ground  that  it  might  cause  a  disturbance  and 
aroused  intense  indignation.  The  Common  Council 
tried  in  vain  to  mend  matters  by  inviting  Daniel 
Webster  to  address  his  fellow  citizens  in  Faneuil  Hall 
at  another  time.  The  Mayor  and  Aldermen  con- 
curred later  in  this  invitation.  Politically,  of  course, 
the  whole  affair  was  a  blunder,  and  all  who  had  opposed 
Mr.  Webster  found  themselves  promptly  relegated  to 
private  life. 

The  crowning  event  in  Mayor  Bigelow's  career  as 
head  of  the  municipality  was  the  completion  of  the 
railroad  line  connecting  Boston  with  Canada  and  the 
Great  Lakes.     It  was  celebrated  in  September,  1851. 

Benjamin  Seaver. 

Born  in  Roxbury,  April  12,  1795;  died  February  14, 
1856;    served  during  1852-53. 

Two  elections  were  necessary  before  Mr.  Seaver  was 
chosen,  and  at  the  second  he  received  only  one  vote 
more  than  the  united  votes  of  his  four  opponents.     He 


32 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


had  been  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  for  five 
years,  and  at  the  time  of  his  election  was  in  business 

as  an  auctioneer.  Mayor 
Seaver  applied  most  of  his 
efforts  to  keeping  down  the 
expenditures  for  municipal 
purposes.  On  his  recom- 
mendation, the  Board  of 
Land  Commissioners  was 
established  in  1853,  in  place 
of  a  joint  committee  of  the 
City  Council.  During  the 
first  year  of  his  adminis- 
tration, the  tax  rate  stood  at 
$6.40  and  was  raised  later 
on  to  $7.60,  in  order  that  all 
expenditures  might  be  met  from  taxes.  The  city  debt 
was  reduced  $234,000,  through  the  sale  of  city  prop- 
erty and  through  higher  taxes. 

Mayor  Seaver  will  be  remembered  principally  through 
his  effort  to  secure  a  building  for  the  Public  Library 
(see  page  115). 


Jerome  Van  Crowninshield  Smith. 

Born  in  Conway,  N.  H.,  July  20,  1800;    died  August 
20,  1879;   served  during  1854-55. 

Benjamin  Seaver  had  been  nominated  by  the  Whigs; 
Smith  by  the  Native  Amer- 
ican Party,  and  Jacob 
Sleeper  by  the  temperance 
men.  On  the  third  ballot 
Smith  was  elected.  He 
was  commonly  known  as 
Doctor  Smith,  having 
taken  the  degree  of  medi- 
cine at  Williams  College. 

It  is  said  that  Mayor 
Smith  "was  never  taken 
quite  seriously  as  the  Chief 
Magistrate."  He      had 

many  schemes  for  the  bet- 
terment of  the  city  government,  but  did  not  succeed 


Mayors  of  Boston. 


33 


in  carrying  them  out;  and  some  of  his  ideas  were  of  a 
singular,  if  not  visionary,  character.  He  did  succeed, 
however,  in  making  a  certain  reform  in  the  Police  De- 
partment. It  consisted  in  uniting  the  "watch  "  and  the 
police  under  one  department  in  charge  of  a  chief  of 
police,  a  form  of  organization  which  was  not  materially 
changed  until  1878. 

During  Mayor  Smith's  administration  the  voters 
of  Boston  accepted  the  proposal  for  a  new  charter  (see 
page  11). 

Alexander  Hamilton  Rice. 

Born  in  Newton,  Mass.,  August  30,  18 18;  died  July 
22,  1895;  served  during  1856-57. 

He  was  known  as  the  ' '  citizens ' ' '  candidate  at  the 
election  and  had  as  oppo- 
nent Dr.  Nathaniel  Shurt- 
leff .  He  announced  at  the 
outset  that  his  principal 
endeavor  would  be  to  im- 
prove the  institutions  and 
other  affairs  of  the  city 
without  going  into  costly 
experiments.  During  his 
administration,  the  better- 
ment of  the  territory  known 
as  the  Back  Bay  was  be- 
gun. His  activity  for  the 
betterment  of  public  in- 
stitutions is  told  elsewhere  (page  140). 

Mayor  Rice  has  been  described  as  a  man  of  pleasing 
address,  having  a  knowledge  of  men  and  affairs,  ability 
as  a  speaker,  and  a  keen  sense  of  popular  wishes. 
Under  him,  expenditures  increased  materially,  especially 
by  the  improvement  of  streets  and  public  lands,  and 
the  city  debt  rose  in  spite  of  large  receipts  from  the 
sale  of  city  property. 

Frederic  Walker  Lincoln,  Jr. 

Born  in  Boston,  February  27,  1817;  died  September 
13,  1898;  served  during  1858-60. 

Mayor   Lincoln   was   so   greatly   appreciated  as   an 


34 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


administrator  of  municipal  affairs,  and  had  so 
thoroughly  gained  the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens 
that,  after  having  served  three  years,  he  was  later 
elected  to  guide  the  city  during  the  trying  period  of 
the  Civil  War. 

In  the  second  year  of  his  administration,  the  Gen- 
eral Court  had  passed  an  act  for  the  annexation  of 

considerable  land  on  the 
Back  Bay,  which  formerly 
belonged  to  the  city  of 
Roxbury.  Soon  after  the 
act  had  been  adopted  by  the 
voters,  plans  were  made  for 
turning  a  part  of  it  into  a 
park,  the  Public  Garden. 

Mr.  Lincoln  appears  to 
have  been  the  first  mayor 
to  secure  Federal  co-opera- 
tion for  the  improvement  of 
Boston  harbor,  which  had 
become  dangerous  to  navi- 
gation through  the  formation  of  shoals.  At  his  insti- 
gation, a  number  of  investigations  were  made  by 
the  United  States  Engineer  Corps  which  resulted  in 
securing  the  needed  improvement  of  the  ship  channels. 
The  panic  of  1857  decreased  the  amount  of  taxable 
property,  and  with  a  tax  rate  of  $8.60,  it  was  necessary 
once  more  to  resort  to  loans.  The  debt  had  increased 
so  that  it  reached  a  total  of  $7,623,000.  In  the  year 
following  (1859)  the  tax  rate  was  raised  to  $9.70,  which 
made  possible  a  reduction  of  the  debt.  Other  events 
during  Mayor  Lincoln's  first  administration  are 
recorded  on  another  page. 


Joseph  Milner  Wightman. 

Born  in  Boston,  October  19,  18 12;  died  January  25, 
1885;  served  during  1861-62. 

Political  feeling  ran  high  at  the  time,  for  the  clouds 
of  war  were  gathering  over  the  country.  It  was  also 
a  most  trying  period  in  the  municipal  administration. 
Business  was  depressed  and  retrenchment  became  nec- 
essary in  all  city  undertakings. 


Mayors  of  Boston. 


35 


In  his  first  inaugural,  Mayor  Wightman  spoke  of 
the  necessity  of  retrenchment,  but  added  that  "works 
and  measures  connected  with  the  public  wants  and 
improvements  already  in  progress  should  be  prose- 
cuted with  diligence  and 
prudence."  During  1861, 
in  spite  of  an  outlay  of  a 
quarter  of  a  million  dollars 
for  war  purposes,  the  total 
expenditures  fell  off  owing 
to  extraordinary  economy. 
The  city  was  obliged  to 
borrow,  however,  for  it 
had  reduced  the  tax  rate  to 
$8.90.  In  1862,  the  rate 
was  raised  to  $10.50,  and  the 
net  debt  was  increased  by 
over  $1,000,000,  due  to  the 
expenditures  occasioned  by  the  war.  The  total  amount 
of  municipal  expenditures  was  $5,203,306,  of  which 
one  third  was  for  war  objects. 

In  spite  of  the  unpropitious  times  for  the  project, 
Mayor  Wightman  recommended  that  a  new  city 
hall  be  built.  He  was  sustained  by  the  City  Council, 
and  the  cornerstone  of  the  new  building  was  laid  on 
December  22,  1862. 


Frederic  Walker  Lincoln,  Jr. 

Second  administration,  1863-66. 

Mr.  Wightman  had  wished  to  be  re-elected,  but  was 
defeated  because  the  people  felt  the  need  of  a  stronger 
guiding  hand  and  a  more  careful  preservation  of  public 
moneys. 

On  Mayor  Lincoln  fell  the  great  burden  of  being  the 
chief  magistrate  during  the  Civil  War,  and  in  those 
troublous  times  incidents  occurred  which  greatly  added 
to  his  tribulations,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  draft  riot 
(see  page  79) . 

At  the  time  of  the  war,  the  relief  of  the  poor  became 
a  particularly  pressing  question,  and  Mayor  Lincoln 
had  to  make  needful  improvements  in  the  methods  of 
providing   relief    and    preventing    undue    waste    (see 


36 


1822  —  Boston  —  192: 


page  141).  The  most  important  new  undertaking  in 
A I  ay  or  Lincoln's  second  administration  was  the  build- 
ing of  the  new  Chestnut  Hill  Reservoir.  The  cost  of 
this  work  was  over  $2,000,000.  The  new  City  Hall 
had  been  finished  and  was  dedicated  on  September  18, 
1865,  with  becoming  ceremony.  During  the  last  year 
of    Mayor   Lincoln's  incumbency  the    General   Court 

authorized  the  city  to  assess 
abutters  who  benefited  by 
street  improvements. 

Mayor  Lincoln's  admin- 
istration had  inevitably 
been  an  expensive  one,  not- 
withstanding the  efforts  to 
keep  the  outlay  as  low  as 
possible.  The  state  levies, 
the  bounty  tax,  and  the 
continued  rise  in  prices,  had 
raised  the  expenditures  to 
over  $6,000,000  in  1864. 
It  became  necessary  to  ad- 
vance the  tax  rate  to  $13.30,  and  in  1865  to  $15.80, 
which  provided  sufficient  funds  not  only  to  pay 
the  expenditures  of  the  last  mentioned  years  which 
amounted  to  more  than  $6,000,000,  but  to  pay  off 
$736,000  on  the  net  debt.  The  expenditures  rose  still 
further  in  1866,  but  by  increasing  valuations  it  became 
possible  to  reduce  the  net  debt  by  $500,000,  although 
the  tax  rate  had  been  lowered  to  $13.  In  other 
words,  at  the  end  of  the  war  the  debt  was  only 
$625,000  larger  than  in  1861,  a  very  great  achievement, 
for  the  requirements  of  the  war  had  been  met  in  a 
liberal  manner,  and  the  city  activities  had  not  been 
dangerously  curtailed. 


Otis  Norcross. 

Born  in  Boston,  November  2,  181 1;  died  Sep- 
tember 5,  1882;    served  during  1867. 

He  was  a.  man  of  firmness,  who  had  served  with 
distinction  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  abhorred  any 
increase  in  the  city  indebtedness,  and  stood  firmly 
against  vague  enterprises. 


Mayors  of  Boston. 


37 


The  most  notable  event  under  Mayor  Norcross  was 
the  annexation  of  the  city  of  Roxbury  to  Boston.     The 

subject  had  long  been  under 
consideration ;  and  when 
the  Legislature  granted  the 
necessary  authority,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  two  cities 
voted  to  accept  the  act. 
In  January  of  the  follow- 
ing year  Roxbury  became  a 
part  of  Boston;  it  had  at 
the  time  30,000  inhabitants. 
Although  Mayor  Nor- 
cross stood  for  retrench- 
ment, the  extravagance 
which  marked  affairs  all 
over  the  country  after  the  Civil  War  could  not  help 
affecting  Boston,  and  the  city's  expenditures  increased  to 
over  $8,000,000  annually.  The  Mayor  met  the  situation 
by  securing  a  tax  rate  of  $15.50,  so  that  the  advance 
in  the  debt  was  very  slight. 


Nathaniel  Bradstreet  Shurtleff. 

Born  in  Boston,  June  29,    1810;    died- October   17, 
1874;    served  during  1868-70. 

He  had  been  an  unsuccessful  candidate  against 
Mayor  Norcross.  Like  his 
predecessor,  he  recommen- 
ded strict  economy.  He  was 
the  first  Mayor  who  had 
always  belonged  to  the 
democratic  party. 

Mayor  Shurtleff 's  admin- 
istration was  greatly  occu- 
pied with  street  extension 
and  improvement  made 
necessary  in  large  part  by 
the  growth  of  South  Boston 
and  new  developments  in 
East  Boston,  and  leading, 
among  other  things,  to  the  building  of   new  bridges 


33 


1S22  —  Boston  —  1922. 


and  the  establishment  of  ferries  between  East  Boston 
and  Boston  proper. 

In  1870,  Dorchester  was  united  to  Boston  and  added 
more  than  10,000  to  the  population  of  the  latter  city. 

Mayor  Shurtleff  did  not  altogether  succeed  in  trim- 
ming expenditures,  for  in  the  first  year  of  his  adminis- 
tration they  rose  to  more  than  $9,000,000,  while  the  tax 
rate  was  reduced  to  $12.20.  This  resulted  in  an  increase 
in  the  net  debt  of  $1,486,000.  In  1869,  the  expenditure 
reached  over  $12,000,000,  with  a  tax  rate  of  $13.70, 
and  an  increase  in  the  debt  of  more  than  $2,000,000. 
In  his  last  inaugural,  Mayor  Shurtleff  once  more  recom- 
mended economy  and  complained  of  the  "costly  and 
uncalled-for  luxuriousness ' '  which  had  marked  the  city 
affairs  in  the  preceding  years.  The  debt  increased  to 
$2,430,000  in  spite  of  a  tax  rate  of  $15.30. 


William  Gaston. 

Born   in   Killingly,    Conn.,    October   3,    1820;     died 
January  19,  1894;   served  during  1871-72. 

He  was  called  the  democratic  and  citizens'  candi- 
date, and  had  for  his  com- 
petitor, Mr.  George  O.  Car- 
penter. He  was  a  man  of 
high  character,  a  lawyer  by 
profession,  and  was  univer- 
sally respected,  but  he  did 
not  seem  to  have  been  a 
man  of  great  force,  for 
otherwise  he  would  in  all 
probability  have  been 
elected  to  a  second  term. 

The  establishment  of  a 
new  board  of  health  was 
the  chief  act  of  the  munici- 
pal government  during  his  administration  (see  page 
69).  Another  important  event  was  the  extension  of 
the  water  system,  when  in  1871  the  supply  of  water  in 
Lake  Cochituate  had  been  found  insufficient  to  supply 
the  growing  Wants  of  Boston  (see  page  97).  From 
this  period  dated  a  systematic  development  of  the  water 
system. 


Mayors  or  Boston. 


39 


By  a  legislative  act  of  1871,  a  new  city  department 
was  established,  known  as  the  Department  for  the 
Survey  and  Inspection  of  Buildings.  The  department 
had  hardly  been  organized  when  the  Great  Fire  of 
1872  occurred  which  led  to  many  modifications  of  the 
building  laws.  It  was  probably  the  dissatisfaction 
with  the  manner  in  which  Mayor  Gaston  managed  the 
Fire  Department  during  the  Great  Fire  that  defeated 
him  for  a  second  term.  The  expenditures  under 
Mayor  Gaston  rose  to  a  very  high  figure,  which  has  been 
ascribed  partly  to  extravagance  and  partly  to  the 
demand  for  better  service.  At  any  rate,  the  expendi- 
tures, which  had  stood  at  more  than  $12,000,000  in 
1 87 1,  rose  to  nearly  $15,000,000  in  the  following  year. 
Part  of  this  rise,  of  course,  was  due  to  the  Great  Fire. 


Henry  Lillie  Pierce. 

Born  in    Stoughton,  Mass.,  August  23,   1825;    died 
December  17,  1896;  served  during  1873  for  ten  months. 

Mayor  Pierce  had  run  on  a  non-partisan  platform 
although  nominated  by  the 
Republicans.  He  served 
only  ten  months,  resigning 
his  office  to  become  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress;  but  they 
were  months  of  anxiety  and 
great  financial  burdens. 
The  Great  Fire  made  it  nec- 
essary to  straighten  and 
widen  the  streets  in  the 
burned  area,  which  en- 
tailed an  enormous  cost. 
One  of  his  first  acts  was  to 
seek  the  reorganization  of 
the  Fire  Department.  An  ordinance  enabled  the  City 
Council  to  place  the  department  under  a  paid  commis- 
sion, and  authority  was  given  the  Mayor  to  appoint 
three  fire  commissioners,  to  hold  office  for  three  years. 
The  new  organization  proved  effective  as  was  soon  made 
evident  by  a  reduction  in  the  rates  of  insurance. 

Mayor  Pierce's  recommendation  that  the  city  charter 
be  amended  met  with  some  opposition,   but  he   was 


40  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

finally  authorized  to  appoint  a  commission  to  consider 
the  subject.  A  draft  of  a  new  charter  was  submitted, 
but  failed  to  receive  the  approval  of  the  City  Council. 

Under  Mayor  Pierce,  Charlestown,  West  Roxbury 
and  Brighton  were  annexed  to  Boston  by  vote,  the 
union  taking  effect  in  January,  1874.  Charlestown  at 
this  time  had  about  30,000  inhabitants,  Brighton,  5,000, 
and  West  Roxbury,  9,000. 

The  City  Council  had  recommended  that  the  read- 
ing room  in  the  Public  Library  should  be  kept  open  at 
certain  hours  on  Sundays.  In  1865  and  1872,  orders 
of  the  same  kind  had  been  vetoed  by  the  mayors 
because  they  regarded  them  as  a  violation  of  the  statute 
regarding  the  observance  of  Sunday,  and  because  they 
did  not  believe  it  would  serve  general  public  policy. 
Mayor  Pierce,  however,  supported  the  order,  which 
was  carried  into  effect,  thus  shattering  another  ancient 
tradition. 

The  expenditures  during  his  mayoralty  term  had 
increased  greatly  on  account  of  street  improvements 
that  could  no  longer  be  postponed,  and  which  amounted 
to  more  than  $18,000,000.  There  was  also  an  advance 
in  the  debt,  due  in  part  to  the  annexations  mentioned 
above. 

Samuel  Crocker  Cobb. 

Born  in  Taunton,  May  22,  1826;  died  February  18, 
1 891;    served  during  1874-76. 

Mayor  Cobb  was  elected  by  a  nearly  unanimous  vote, 
the  first  occurrence  of  this  kind  recorded  in  the  munic- 
ipal history  of  Boston.  He  had  experience  in  city 
affairs  and  was  a  man  of  pronounced  courage,  a  firm 
believer  in  a  nonpartisan  administration  of  local  affairs. 
He  was  much  concerned  with  the  establishment  of 
public  parks  in  different  sections  of  Boston  and  instru- 
mental in  forwarding  the  park  movement  generally 
(see  page  120). 

Under  Mayor  Cobb,  on  petition  of  the  City  Council, 
the  General  Court  passed  an  act  authorizing  the 
appointment  of  the  Boston  Water  Board,  to  be  organ- 
ized on  the  same  basis  as  the  health  and  fire  boards. 


Mayors  op  Boston. 


4i 


There  had  long  been  trouble  over  the  question  of 
issuing  liquor  licenses.  Mayor  Cobb  announced  in  his 
first  inaugural  that  he  would  "use  all  legal  means  to 
carry  into  effect  a  law  which  should  have  for  its  object 
the  regulation  and  restraint  of  the  liquor  traffic."  A 
license  law  was  secured  shortly  afterwards,  to  be  exe- 
cuted by  a  board  of  three  license  commissioners,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Mayor,  with  the  consent  of  the  City 
Council. 

Another  innovation  under  Mayor  Cobb  was  the 
establishment  of  a  board  of  registrars  of  voters,  to 
consist  of  three  persons  ap- 
pointed by  the  Mayor,  with 
the  approval  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen.  There  had 
been  much  dissatisfaction 
over  the  manner  in  which 
election  affairs  were  looked 
after.  Hitherto,  a  ward 
clerk  and  six  inspectors  had 
been  elected  by  the  quali- 
fied voters  of  each  ward  to 
superintend  elections  and 
count  the  votes.  Mayor 
Cobb    was    authorized     to 

appoint  three  of  the  six  inspectors  in  each  ward,  hoping 
thereby  to  do  away  with  the  frequent  election  scandals, 
but  the  reform  was  not  sufficiently  drastic.  Finally, 
in  1878,  the  city  was  divided  into  voting  precincts  of 
five  hundred  registered  voters  in  each,  as  nearly  as 
possible,  and  the  Mayor  was  authorized  to  appoint 
two  inspectors  representing  different  political  parties. 

The  event  of  greatest  historical  interest  during  Mayor 
Cobb's  administration  was  the  celebration  of  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 
It  is  related  that  on  this  occasion  many  men  who  had 
taken  leading  parts  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  both 
Unionists  and  Confederates,  met  for  the  first  time  in 
peace. 

Mayor  Cobb  stood  for  strict  economy,  and  in  1874 
the  tax  rate  was  placed  at  $15.60  so  that  expenditures 
could  be  met  from  taxes.     His  attitude  can  be  summed 


42 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


up  in  his  own  words  contained  in  the  last  address  to  the 
City  Council:  "The  question  for  us,  therefore,  is  not 
what  expenditures  and  enterprises  would  be  desirable 
or  ornamental  for  the  future,  but  what  are  indispensable 
for  health,  for  order,  for  security,  and  for  the  accom- 
modation of  such  traffic  as  there  is,  for  maintaining  the 
public  property  in  repair,  and  keeping  the  machinery 
of  our  vital  institutions  of  education,  charity  and  reform 
in  vigorous  operation." 

In  1875  and  1876  the  tax  rate  was  lowered  in  order 
to  reduce  the  burden  of  taxation. 


Frederick  Octavius  Prince. 

Born  in  Boston,   January   18,    1818;    died  June  6, 
1899;  served  during  1877. 
He    was    a    candidate    of    the    democratic    party 

and  defeated  his  opponent, 
Nathaniel  J.  Bradlee,  a 
candidate  of  the  republican 
party  and  citizens  organi- 
zation,   by    5,000   votes. 

Mayor  Prince  had  not 
previously  been  connected 
with  the  city  government. 
Being  regarded  as  a  special 
representative  of  his  party, 
he  found  some  difficulty 
in  adjusting  the  demands 
of  his  supporters  to  the 
best  interest  of  the  city. 
Like  his  predecessor  he  advocated  retrenchment  and 
succeeded  in  reducing  the  tax  levy  about  one-half 
million  dollars.  Under  him,  appropriations  were  made 
for  improved  sewerage,  a  new  building  for  the  English 
High  and  Latin  schools  and  for  a  Back  Bay  park. 
Indeed,  one  may  date  the  development  of  the  park 
system  from  the  administration  of  Mayor  Prince. 


Mayors  or  Boston. 


43 


Henry  Lillie  Pierce. 

Second  administration,  1878. 

Dissatisfaction  with  Mayor  Prince's  administration 
found  expression  in  a  peti- 
tion of  2,500  tax  payers  in 
which  they  asked  Mr. 
Pierce,  who  had  retired 
from  Congress,  to  become 
the  citizens'  candidate  for 
Mayor.  He  heeded  the 
call  and  had  for  his  oppo- 
nent Air.  Prince,  who  was 
renominated  by  the  Dem- 
ocrats. The  contest  was 
very  bitter. 

In  his  address  to  the 
city  government,  Mayor 
Pierce  said,  among  other  things,  "While  I  am  fully  sen- 
sible of  the  defects  in  our  present  system  of  municipal 
administration,  I  cannot  help  regarding  with  distrust 
any  scheme  for  curing  them  by  a  radical  change  of  the 
New  England  system  under  which  we  have  grown  up, 
and  which,  notwithstanding  its  defects,  has  thus  far 
produced  better  results  than  any  other  system  that 
has  been  tried  in  this  country." 

Mayor  Pierce  reorganized  the  Police  Department, 
which  at  this  time  consisted  of  7.15  men  who  were 
appointed  by  the  Mayor  with  the  approval  of  the 
Aldermen.  The  result  did  not  prove  satisfactory,  and 
thereupon  the  Mayor  advocated  placing  the  police 
under  a  commission ;   it  was  done  (see  page  80) . 

The  tax  rate  was  reduced  to  $12.80,  owing  to  the 
continued  diminution  in  expenditures. 


Frederick  Octavius  Prince. 

Second  administration,  1879-81. 

Mr.  Pierce  declined  a  re-election,  and  ex-Mayor 
Prince  again  stood  as  a  candidate  of  the  democrats, 
being  opposed  by  Colonel  Charles  R.  Codman,  nomi- 
nated by  the  citizens'  group  and  the  republicans. 


44 


1S22  —  Boston  —  1922. 


There  was  a  feeling  abroad  that  Mr.  Prince  had 
been  badly  used  in  the  previous  election,  and  the 
reaction  in  his  favor  which  had  set  in  brought  him 
this  time  a  plurality  of  about  700  votes.  His  second 
administration  showed  so  far  an  improvement  over  the 
previous  one  that  he  was  elected  for  a  third  term  over 
the  republican  candidate,  Solomon  B.  Stebbins,  by  a 
majority  of  more  than  2,000  votes. 

The  city  government  at 
this   time  was    chiefly    en- 
gaged in  completing  meas- 
^K^v^^jk  ures  for  municipal  improve- 

ment that  already  had  been 
^.  £  begun,    among    them  were 

the  improvement  of  the 
sewerage  system,  park  con- 
struction on  the  Back  Bay, 
the  enlargement  of  water- 
works, and  the  erection  of  a 
new  building  for  the  English 
High  and  Latin  schools.  At 
the  end  of  Mayor  Prince's 
incumbency,  the  most  important  projects  before  the 
city  were  the  erection  of  the  new  Court  House,  the 
Public  Library  building,  and  the  establishment  of 
public  parks  in  different  parts  of  the  city. 

In  1880,  the  city  government  celebrated  the  250th 
anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  Boston.  On  this 
occasion  the  statue  of  John  Winthrop  was  unveiled 
on  Scollay  square. 

Mayor  Prince  stood  distinctly  for  retrenchment,  but 
the  prosperity  beginning  in  1880  created  a  demand  for 
additional  improvements.  Expenditures  increased;  so 
did  also  the  tax  rate  which  reached  $15.20  and  enabled 
a  reduction  of  the  city  debt. 

Mayor  Prince  did  not  approve  of  the  common  atti- 
tude toward  municipal  expenditures.  In  his  inaugural, 
he  said  that  the  citizens  of  Boston  were  "disposed  to 
regard  many  things,  which  elsewhere  are  considered 
municipal  luxuries,  as  municipal  necessaries,  and  yet 
they  are  unwilling  to  pay  the  cost  of  them."  The 
president  of  the  Common  Council  stated  the  situation 


Mayors  or  Boston. 


45 


He  was  inter- 


in  regard  to  municipal  expenditures  clearly  and  con- 
cisely in  saying,  "We  plan  and  provide  for  the  present 
only.  Our  policy  leads  to  temporary  expedients  and 
make-shifts."  He,  too,  found  that  the  demands  of 
the  citizens  were  too  great  and  necessitated  a  cost 
above  that  to  be  found  in  other  municipalities. 

Samuel  Abbott  Green. 

Born  in  Groton,  March  16,  1830;  died  December 
5,  1918;  served  during  1882. 

Mayor  Green  served  for  one  year 
ested  in  promoting  the 
public  park  system  to 
which  the  city  had  been 
committed  during  the  pre- 
vious years,  and  suggested 
that  a  large  part  of  the 
Franklin  Fund  might  be 
used  by  the  city  "for  a 
purpose  kindred  to  public 
parks."  He  would,  there- 
fore, apply  the  income  from 
this  fund  toward  the 
"embellishment  of  Boston ' ' 
under  certain  conditions, 
believing  that  this  would  be  in  accordance  with  the 
expressed  desire  of  Benjamin  Franklin  "and  would  lead 
the  way  clear  to  give  the  name  of  the  great  printer, 
philosopher,  and  statesman  to  one  of  the  new  parks." 
He  also  manifested  interest  in  the  public  school  system 
and  public  library. 

Under  Mayor  Green's  administration  the  tax  rate 
was  $15.10,  but  it  was  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  in- 
creased expenditures,  particularly  on  account  of  outlay 
for  the  park  system. 


Albert  Palmer. 

Born  in  Candia,  New  Hampshire,  January  17,  1831; 
died  May  21,  1887;  served  during  1883. 

Like  his  predecessor,  Mayor  Palmer  served  but  one 
year.     Business  had  revived,  but  retrenchment  was  still 


46 


1 82  2  —  Boston  —  1922. 


insisted  upon.  Indeed,  in  his  inaugural  Mayor  Palmer 
characterized  economy  as  "the  imperial  word  that  domi- 
nates the  hour."  He  was  much  concerned  about  cor- 
ruption in  the  election  of  municipal  officers,  and  said 

it  was  becoming  increas- 
ingly obvious  in  regard  to 
the  electoral  system  that 
' '  with  each  succeeding  elec- 
tion the  greatest  evil  that 
vitiates  its  purity  and  hon- 
esty and  imperils  its  use- 
fulness as  a  means  to  the 
end  of  good  government,  is 
the  employment  of  money 
to  secure  the  success  of 
candidates,  whether  of  one 
party  or  the  other,  in  sums 
so  large  as  to  far  exceed 
the  limit  of  legitimate  political  expenditure."  He 
proposed  various  changes  in  the  registration  laws  and 
would  not  have  the  payment  of  the  poll  tax  as  a 
requisite  to  voting. 

Mayor  Palmer  complained  that  the  government  of 
the  city  of  Boston  was  too  largely  in  the  hands  of 
appointive  officers  and  not  of  elective  officers,  and  that 
most  of  the  large  municipal  departments  were  com- 
mitted to  the  keeping  of  commissions.  No  new  munici- 
pal undertaking  was  begun  under  him. 


Augustus  Pearl  Martin. 

Born  in  Abbot,  Maine,  November  23,  1835;  died 
March  13,  1902;  served  during  1884. 

Mayor  Martin  remained  in  office  for  but  one  year. 
He  deplored  the  increasing  debt  and  the  departure 
from  the  policy  of  pay-as-you-go.  His  administration 
was  largely  concerned  with  carrying  out  public  works 
begun  under  preceding  mayors.  He  declared  himself 
in  favor  of  electing  aldermen  by  districts  instead  of  on 
a  general  ticket,  on  the  ground  that  under  a  district 
system  ua  more  direct  responsibility,  a  more  accurate 
representation    of    the    will    of    the   people  would  be 


Mayors  of  Boston. 


47 


ensured,  and  by  bringing  the  issue  nearer  home,  our 
citizens  would  be  incited  to  increased  interest  in 
municipal  affairs." 

A  noteworthy  stand  was  taken  by  Mayor  Martin 
against  political  interference  with  city  employees.  He 
found  that  such  interference  had  been  most  disastrous 
in  the  fire  and  police  departments,  but  he  directed 
specific  attention  to  the  inroads  it  had  made  among 
laborers  on  public  works,  claiming  that  their  chance  to 
work  "depended  upon  the 
ticket  given  or  sold  to  them 
by  some  politician,  or  upon 
the  contribution  of  a  day's 
wages  for  political  pur- 
poses." He  would  have 
heads  of  departments  free 
to  select  the  necessary  work- 
men without  dictation  from 
any  quarter.  As  he  put  it, 
1 '  The  loss  to  the  city  from 
the  employment  of  un- 
skilled foremen  and  inef- 
ficient    workmen     billeted 

upon  heads  of  departments  cannot  be  measured  by  the 
current  expenses  of  a  single  year."  In  1884  (conse- 
quently while  Mayor  Martin  was  in  office),  the  civil 
service  law  was  enacted  and  that,  together  with  the 
charter  of  1885,  helped  improve  conditions. 

Mayor  Martin  carried  out  vigorously  the  policy  of 
meeting  expenditures  from  taxes  and  reducing  the  debt. 
To  bring  about  this  desired  result,  a  tax  rate  of  $17 
was  imposed,  making  possible  a  reduction  of  $1,748,000 
in  the  net  debt. 

Hugh  O'Brien. 

Born  in  Ireland,  July  13,  1827;  died  August  1, 
1895;    served  during  1885-88. 

He  was  the  first  Mayor  of  Boston  not  of  native  birth, 
and  his  popularity  was  attested  to  by  his  re-election 
for  four  consecutive  terms.  During  the  first  year  of 
his  administration,  the  charter  reforms  of  1885  went 
into  effect  (see  page  12). 


48 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


Mayor  O'Brien  was  very  much  concerned  about 
proper  methods  of  street  improvements.  It  had  been 
remarked  by  an  earlier  administration  ' '  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  Boston,  from  its  infancy  (as  shown  in  its 
streets)  has  still  within  a  few  years  been  without 
method,  depending  chiefly  upon  the  individual  fancy 
or  convenience  of  property  owners  instead  of  being 
directed  by  municipal  authority."  Mayor  O'Brien 
said  that  during  the  previous  years  Boston  had  "ex- 
pended millions  of  dollars 
for  widening  and  extending 
streets  that  could  have  been 
saved  if  some  systematic 
plan  had  been  adopted." 
He  was  instrumental,  under 
the  new  charter,  in  bring- 
ing about  improvements  in 
street  work  of  great  value. 
Another  question  of  great 
concern  to  Mayor  O'Brien 
was  that  of  the  tax  rate. 
He  believed  that  it  should 
be  limited  by  law  and  the 
maximum  placed  at  $15;  but  the  General  Court  took 
the  matter  into  its  own  hands,  and  the  rate  was  fixed 
in  1885  at  $12.80,  all  above  the  amount  of  $9  being 
for  the  state  tax  and  city  debt.  He  was  actually 
able  to  keep  within  the  prescribed  tax  limit  of 
1885,  and  to  bring  the  city  debt  within  the  2  per 
cent  limit. 

Mayor  O'Brien  was  dissatisfied  with  the  charter 
amendments  of  1885.  His  predilection  was  for  giving 
the  Mayor  full  power,  saying,  "If  he  does  not  do  his 
duty,  turn  him  out."  He  asked,  "Why  should  Boston 
be  singled  out  for  special  legislation?  In  other  words, 
the  citizens  of  Boston  ought  to  be  allowed  the  largest 
liberty  in  governing  themselves,  because  they  are  more 
competent  to  organize  departments  for  the  efficient 
government  of  the  city  under  such  general  laws." 
Throughout  his  administration,  he  stood  firmly  against 
interference  in  city  affairs  by  the  General  Court. 


Mayors  or  Boston. 


49 


Thomas  Norton  Hart. 

Born  in  North  Reading,  Mass.,  January  20,  1829; 
served  1889-90. 

He  was  elected  as  a  protest  against  the  alleged  par- 
tisanship in  the  city  govern- 
ment. Among  the  several 
recommendations  in  his 
first  inaugural  was  a  re- 
duction of  city  depart- 
ments. They  then  num- 
bered over  fifty,  and  some 
of  them  were  not  even  re- 
quired to  publish  reports. 
He  advocated  the  consoli- 
dation of  the  entire  Street 
Department,  the  Sewer, 
Bridge  and  Lamp  Depart- 
ments, the  Health  Depart- 
ment and  the  Building  Department  into  a  Department 
of  Public  Works.  Furthermore,  he  would  have  all 
charitable  institutions  and  relief  work  placed  under  a 
board  of  three  salaried  members.  A  number  of  minor 
changes  in  regard  to  the  work  of  various  departments 
were  also  suggested  by  him. 

The  first  year  of  Mayor  Hart's  administration 
showed  a  large  net  increase  in  borrowing,  but  the  next 
year  (1890)  the  net  debt  increased  but  $267,000,  and 
the  margin  for  borrowing  was  considerably  extended. 


Nathan  Matthews,  Jr. 

Born  in  Boston,  March  28,  1854;  served  during 
1891-94. 

The  best  evidence  of  the  effectiveness  of  Mayor 
Matthews'  administration  is  contained  in  his  valedic- 
tory address,  which  is  not  merely  a  review  of  his  own 
work,  but  based  upon  patient  search  into  the  past 
history  of  municipal  government  of  Boston.  This  ad- 
dress supplies  the  first  general  description  of  the  city 
administration  published  since  the  time  of  Quincy's 
municipal  history.,  which  ended  with  the  year  1830. 


So 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


If  one  should  single  out  special  features  of  Mayor 
Matthews'  administration,  one  would  perhaps  give 
first  place  to  his  insight  into  the  organization  and 
functions  of  city  government,  his  grasp  of  municipal 
finance,  and  his  outspokenness  in  condemning  what  to 
him  seemed  improper  or  wrong. 

Among  constructive  measures  affecting  the  govern- 
mental machinery  itself,  which  were  introduced  by 
Mayor  Matthews,  may  be  mentioned  the  consolidation 
of  the  departments  of  Cambridge  Bridge,  Sewers  and 

Sanitary  Police  with  the 
Street  Department,  under  a 
single  superintendent;  and 
the  abolition  of  the  Ancient 
Records  Commission  whose 
work  was  assigned  to  the 
City  Registrar. 

Mayor  Matthews  stood 
distinctly  for  a  longer  term 
of  office  for  the  Mayor  and 
his  executive  officers  than 
had  hitherto  prevailed, 
favoring  that  heads  of  de- 
partments as  well  as  subor- 
dinate officers  should  hold  office  until  death,  resig- 
nation, or  removal.  The  City  Council  of  1892  passed 
an  ordinance  forbidding  city  employees  to  serve  on 
political  committees.  An  attempt  to  repeal  the  ord- 
inance the  following  year  was  prevented  by  the 
Mayor's  veto.  Thus  Boston  was  the  first,  and  cer- 
tainly remained  the  sole  public  body  in  the  country  at 
the  time  of  Mayor  Matthews'  administration  which  pro- 
hibited office  holders  from  serving  on  political  com- 
mittees or  acting  as  delegates  to  political  conventions. 
In  regard  to  the  legislative  branch  of  the  city  govern- 
ment, he  opposed  the  bi-cameral  system,  and  would 
substitute  a  single  legislative  body.  He  condemned  un- 
qualifiedly the  election  of  the  Board  of  Street  Commis- 
sioners by  popular  vote. 

Mention  has  been  made  elsewhere  of  the  Mayor's 
pronounced  opposition  to  the  interference  by  the  state 
in  city  affairs  (see  page  17).     Accordingly,  he  advo- 


Mayors  of  Boston.  51 

cated  strongly  the  abolition  of  the  State  Board  of  Police, 
holding  that  it  was  "not  responsible  to  the  city  govern- 
ment, and  composed  necessarily  of  gentlemen  who, 
whatever  their  personal  qualifications,  are  yet  regarded 
by  the  majority  of  the  voters  of  this  city  with  dis- 
trust." He  also  asserted  that  the  Police  Department 
had  never  been  "so  mismanaged  as  between  the  years 
1889  and  1893." 

Of  Mayor  Matthews'  fiscal  reforms  there  is  not 
room  to  write  at  length.  He  stood  steadfastly  against 
an  expansion  in  the  city  expenditures  except  for  abso- 
lutely necessary  purposes.  During  his  term  of  four 
years,  he  vetoed  241  loans  or  items  in  loan  bills  involv- 
ing an  expenditure  of  $2,683,375,  an(i  could  say  at  the 
end  of  his  administration :  ' '  No  loans  have  been  issued 
for  current  expenses  during  the  last  four  fiscal  years." 

Mayor  Matthews'  general  concern  regarding  ques- 
tions relating  to  public  health  has  been  noted  else- 
where. He  foresaw  that  the  water  supply  from  the 
Sudbury  river  system  would  soon  reach  the  limit  of  its 
capacity,  and  he  was  instrumental  in  having  the  Gen- 
eral Court  authorize  the  State  Board  of  Health  to  make 
an  elaborate  inquiry  into  future  sources  of  water  supply. 

He  was  especially  eager  to  see  more  attention  paid  to 
industrial  education  than  heretofore  and  advocated  a 
liberal  appropriation  for  the  establishment  of  the 
Mechanic  Arts  High  School.  The  building  for  this 
branch  of  school  work  was  opened  in  1893.  During  his 
term,  fourteen  primary  schools  and  three  grammar 
schools  were  constructed  while  others  were  begun. 
The  Suffolk  County  Court  House  was  completed;  the 
Public  Library  was  nearly  completed,  and  various 
buildings  on  the  public  parks  were  constructed,  not  to 
mention  the  different  structures  for  the  use  of  other 
city  departments. 

Aside  from  making  many  improvements  in  the 
construction  of  public  streets  and  their  maintenance, 
including  determined  efforts  to  secure  for  the  city  an 
adequate  compensation  for  the  use  of  streets,  Mayor 
Matthews  took  an  active  part  in  promoting  the  con- 
struction of  the  first  subway.  The  necessary  legis- 
lative authority  was  obtained  in  1894  an(^  subsequently 


52 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


ratified  by  popular  vote.  That  this  momentous  step 
was  taken  can  in  large  part  be  attributed  to  the  far- 
sighted  policy  initiated  by  the  Mayor. 

Much  attention  was  given  to  the  development  of  the 
park  system  within  the  city,  and  the  Mayor  felt  it 
advisable  "that  the  city  should  lend  its  aid  in  every 
legitimate  way  to  the  scheme  of  Metropolitan  park 
improvements." 

Mayor  Matthews  had  a  keen  eye  to  the  development 
of  commercial  facilities  of  Boston  and  made  valuable 
recommendations  for  their  extension,  but  it  did  not 
fall  to  him  to  engage  in  constructive  work  of  this  kind 
on  a  large  scale. 


Edwin  Upton  Curtis. 

Born  in  Roxbury,  March  26,  1861;    died  March  28, 
1922;  served  during  1895. 

Mayor    Curtis    was    much    engaged    with    changes 

in  the  city  departments, 
both  as  to  organization 
and  practice.  He  recom- 
mended that  the  park 
police  be  placed  under  the 
Board  of  Police,  so  that 
the  entire  police  force 
might  be  under  one  head. 
This  consolidation 
was  effected  by  legislation 
during  his  term. 

The  election  machin- 
ery at  the  time  was  con- 
trolled by  the  Mayor,  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  the  City  Clerk,  the  Registrars  of 
Voters,  and  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings; 
the  details  of  the  work,  however,  were  in  charge  of  the 
City  Clerk  and  the  Registrars  of  Voters.  This  cumber- 
some machinery,  with  its  divided  responsibility  and 
great  expense,  Mayor  Curtis  would  supplant  by  a 
Board  of  Election  consisting  of  four  commissioners 
selected  from  each  of  the  two  great  political  parties,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  Mayor  for  a  term  of  five  years.     The 


Mayors  of  Boston.  53 

necessary  legislative  authority  was  obtained,  and  the 
Board  of  Election  Commissioners  took  office  in  1895. 

Aside  from  recommending  the  consolidation  of  the 
two  water  departments,  of  the  Engineering  and  Sur- 
veying Departments,  as  well  as  the  abolition  of  the 
City  Architect's  office,  Mayor  Curtis  took  a  decided 
stand  against  three-headed  commissions,  believing 
that  the  duties  of  each  could  be  discharged  better  and 
more  economically  by  one  man.  He,  accordingly, 
proposed  that  the  Board  of  Fire  Commissioners,  the 
Board  of  Commissioners  of  Public  Institutions,  and  the 
Boston  Water  Board  be  abolished.  At  the  same  time 
he  would  increase  compensations,  so  as  to  command 
the  services  of  the  best  men.  In  the  course  of  time,  all 
of  these  recommendations  bore  fruit. 

Like  most  of  his  predecessors,  Mayor  Curtis  found 
it  difficult  under  the  $9  tax  rate  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  city,  both  in  respect  to  obligations  for 
work  undertaken  and  to  improvements  demanded  for 
ordinary  purposes.  Gn  his  recommendation,  a  com- 
mission of  citizens  was  appointed  to  look  into  the 
finances  of  the  city  and  make  a  report  within  three 
months.  This  commission  was  established  and  even- 
tually brought  in  a  voluminous  report  containing  many 
significant  criticisms  and  recommendations,  some  of 
which  were  repeated  by  the  Finance  Commission,  of 
which  the  committee  appointed  by  Mayor  Curtis  may 
be  regarded  as  a  precursor.  The  net  increase  in  the 
debt  in  1895  was  $3,562,000. 


JOSIAH    QUINCY. 

Born  in  Quincy,  October  15,  1859;  died  September 
8,  1 9 19;  served  during  1896-99. 

Josiah  Quincy  was  elected  under  the  legislative  act 
of  1895  for  a  term  of  two  years,  and  re-elected  in  1898. 
He  was  the  third  Mayor  to  bear  the  name  of  his  family. 
In  no  other  instance  has  the  same  family  given  more 
than  one  Mayor  to  Boston. 

As  one  scans  the  pages  recording  his  administration, 
the  family  likeness  between  him  and  the  other  two 
Quincys  is    striking.      The    three   men    distinguished 


54 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


themselves  as  students  of  the  theory  of  municipal 
government  and  were  much  concerned  with  it;  they 
showed  the  same  ardent  desire  that  the  poor  as 
well  as  the  rich  should  share  the  benefits  which  a 
municipal  administration  might  confer;  and,  above 
all,  they  were  not  content  with  passive  policies,  but 
strove  for  improvements  and  cast  about  for  new 
methods  and  means  of  making  municipal  administra- 
tion more  effective. 

The  last  Josiah  Quincy  came  into  office  at  a  time 
when  municipal   expenditures  had   greatly  increased. 

His  immediate  concern  was 
to  bring  to  a  conclusion  the 
public  works  and  under- 
takings begun  under  his 
predecessors.  In  regard  to 
finance,  to  paraphrase  his 
own  words,  he  established 
the  policy  that  it  was  the 
business  of  the  city  of 
Boston  to  spend  money  for 
objects  that  would  bring 
her  poorer  citizens  some  of 
the  comforts  enjoyed  by  the 
more  fortunately  situated. 
On  other  pages  have  been  told  at  length  of  the  many 
changes  as  well  as  better  methods  he  instituted  in 
charitable  and  correctional  institutions,  and  how  he 
experimented  to  this  end.  It  was  on  his  initiative  that 
the  system  of  placing  city  departments  under  unpaid 
boards  had  its  beginning.  No  branch  of  the  city's 
activities  escaped  his  notice.  His  interest  in  school 
affairs  was  especially  keen.  In  this  connection,  it  may 
be  stated  that  his  policy  regarding  the  School  Com- 
mittee differed  from  that  of  most  Mayors  in  that  he 
would  have  it  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  thereby  plac- 
ing it  on  exactly  the  same  basis  as  the  other  executive 
departments. 

Perhaps  the  memorial  by  which  Mayor  Quincy  will 
best  be  remembered  is  to  be  found  in  the  system  of  play- 
grounds and  gymnasia  and  of  more  adequate  public 
baths  carried  out  so  vigorously  under  him.     In  addi- 


Mayors  or  Boston.  55 

tion  to  the  many  departmental  changes  brought  about, 
he  established  two  new  departments,  namely,  the  Print- 
ing Department  and  the  Statistics  Department.  The 
first  mentioned  remained  in  an  experimental  stage  for 
some  time,  but  was  finally  placed  on  a  business  basis. 

Mayor  Quincy's  administration  of  four  years  was 
assuredly  progressive  but  also  expensive.  There  was 
a  great  outlay  for  street  improvements  in  1896;  the 
subway  appropriation  had  grown;  and  the  schools 
demanded  more  money.  Although  the  receipts  of  the 
city  increased  at  the  same  time,  it  was  necessary  to 
resort  to  more  borrowing.  In  1897,  the  total  expendi- 
tures of  the  city  amounted  to  more  than  $27,000,000. 
Again  large  sums  were  spent  for  street  improvement, 
particularly  for  the  long  neglected  system  of  sewers. 

The  expenditures  in  1898  were  $1,700,000  below 
those  of  1897;  and  the  increase  in  the  net  debt,  $2,- 
740,000.  The  tax  rate  stood  at  $13.60.  During  the 
last  year  under  Mayor  Quincy,  there  again  occurred 
an  increased  expenditure  for  streets  and  schools.  Dis- 
content with  the  alleged  too  generous  outlay  of  public 
money  became  more  and  more  marked,  finally  ending 
in  the  election  of  a  conservative  successor. 

Mayor  Quincy  has  told  the  story  of  his  own  admin- 
istration in  an  address  delivered  at  the  seventy-fifth 
anniversary  of  the  city. 

Thomas  Norton  Hart. 

Second  administration,   1900-01. 

In  his  first  inaugural  of  January  1,  1900,  Mayor 
Hart,  who  had  been  elected  by  a  plurality  of  2,281  over 
his  democratic  opponent,  called  attention  to  an  im- 
portant oversight  regarding  the  accumulating  burden 
of  debt  incurred  by  the  Commonwealth  for  certain  large 
undertakings  by  the  metropolitan  boards.  Boston's 
share  of  this  metropolitan  debt,  he  stated,  has  never 
been  ascertained.  He  thought  it  amounted  to  not 
less  than  $20,000,000,  but  this  liability  appeared  no- 
where in  the  city's  accounts.  A  communication  on  this 
subject  from  the  State  Auditor  showed  in  1900  a  total 
metropolitan    debt    of    $37,565,912,    but    this    was    a 


56 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


state  and  not  a  city  debt.  The  city  was  only  liable  for 
the  payment  of  annual  assessments.  State  officials 
apparently  regarded  this  debt  in  the  same  light. 

In  his  inaugural  of  1901,  Mayor  Hart  discussed  the 
confusing  mixture  of  city,  state  and  county  govern- 
ment imposed  on  Boston,  observing  that  this  scattering 

of  power  ' '  would  never  have 
taken  place  had  City  Hall 
proved  equal  to  all  de- 
mands." According  to  his 
view,  home  rule  for  Boston 
could  probably  be  realized 
when  "playing  politics" 
ceased  and  municipal  con- 
ditions became  such  as  to 
deserve  it. 

Under  Mayor  Hart,  the 
memorable  settlement  was 
effected  with  the  Common- 
wealth for  Boston's  water 
supply  system,  which  had  passed  into  the  control  of 
the  Metropolitan  Water  Board  in  1898.  It  was  the 
largest  financial  transaction  to  which  the  city  had 
been  a  part  (see  page  99).  In  1901,  the  administra- 
tion was  occupied  with  the  rising  costs  of  the  schools, 
streets,  new  bridges,  estimated  to  cost  $2,750,000,  the 
working  of  the  eight-hour  law  for  city  employees,  etc. 
On  the  subject  of  schools,  Mayor  Hart  said,  "The 
transfer  of  government  power  from  City  Hall  to  the 
School  Committee  has  plunged  the  latter  into  political 
confusion,  and  the  financial  rights  of  the  School  Depart- 
ment are  not  equal  to  its  wants."  He  favored  the 
transfer  of  all  the  real  estate  operations  pertaining  to 
schools  to  a  separate  department,  under  control  of  the 
Mayor.  This  suggestion  was  adopted,  and,  by  an  act 
of  1901,  the  Schoolhouse  Department  was  established, 
with  three  salaried  commissioners,  appointed  by  the 
Mayor,  who  should  select  school  sites,  plan,  erect,  re- 
pair and  furnish  school  buildings,  all  appropriations  for 
such  remaining  in  charge  of  the  School  Committee. 

The  important  project  of  the  Charles  River  Basin 
came  up  for  action  in  1901 .     Mayor  Hart  recommended 


Mayors  of  Boston. 


57 


and  the  City  Council  accepted  the  legislative  act  pro- 
viding for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  investi- 
gate and  report  on  the  construction  of  a  dam  across  the 
river  between  Boston  and  Cambridge.  He  favored  a 
measure  which  would  raise  the  tax  to  $12  and  the  debt 
limit  to  2  J  per  cent  in  order  that  Boston  might  be  placed 
on  the  same  footing  as  other  cities.  He  wanted  Boston 
to  have  enough  borrowing  capacity  to  complete  the 
work  already  begun  and  to  provide  for  other  require- 
ments. The  General  Court  granted  the  request  in 
regard  to  debt  limit,  but  refused  to  raise  the  tax  limit 
above  $10.50. 

Patrick  Andrew  Collins. 

Born  in  Fermoy,  Ireland,  March  12,  1844;  died 
September  14,  1905;  served  during  1902-05  (eight 
months  of  1905). 

Mayor  Collins  took  office  after  a  distinguished  public 
career  of  four  years  in  the 
State  Legislature,  six  years 
as  Congressman,  and  four 
years  as  United  States 
Consul  General  at  London. 

In  his  first  inaugural 
address,  he  said:  "The chief 
trouble  with  commercial 
Boston  is  that  it  seeks  to 
do  all  its  best  business  in 
one  square  mile  of  land. 
The  result  is  congestion, 
very  high  rents  within  that 
area,  and  somewhat  ragged 

prospects  beyond.  More  business_c^ntres  of  the  first 
class  .  .  .  willjnake  Bostnn^ajTgtt.pir'a.rirl  a.jggatgr 
city.  For  this  purpose  I  niay*De_counted_aii  expan- 
sijonist_of_the  most  extreme^ type. "  He  favored  a  new 
city  hallcosting  lroin$L500,ooo  to  $2,000,000,  worthy 
of  the  city  and  located  at  some  distance  from  the 
present  site,  so  that  it  might  help  to  create  a  new  center 
of  activity,  and  he  was  opposed  to  any  temporary  make- 
shift that  might  bring  the  problem  to  the  front  again 
in  ten  years. 


5S  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

Mayor  Collins  deprecated  the  high  debt  and  running 
expenses,  and  deemed  rigid  economy  in  all  departments 
as  imperative.  Boston  was  getting  back  to  the  prac- 
tice of  borrowing  for  improvements.  The  net  debt  in 
1902  increased  nearly  $6,936,000,  which  was  the 
largest  advance  for  years.  Mayor  Collins  remarked, 
"The  obvious  fact  cannot  be  ignored  that  Boston  either 
plunges  or  is  rushed  into  deeper  debt  every  year."  He 
engaged  an  expert  municipal  accountant  to  discover 
and  check  waste,  and  several  special  reports  were 
submitted  by  him.  He  persistently  objected  to  need- 
less and  questionable  drafts  upon  the  city's  borrowing 
power  for  public  improvements,  whether  demanded 
by  the  General  Court  or  requested  by  the  City  Council. 
For  instance,  in  1902,  he  vetoed  a  loan  order  amounting 
to  $2,494,300  passed  by  the  City  Council,  containing 
over  twenty  appropriations  for  playgrounds,  bath- 
houses, wardrooms,  etc.  Again,  in  1905,  he  vetoed 
the  City  Council's  approval  of  an  act  by  the  General 
Court  commanding  the  City  Hospital  Trustees  to  erect 
a  relief  station  in  East  Boston  at  an  expense  not  ex- 
ceeding $100,000,  the  City  Treasurer  having  been 
ordered  to  issue  bonds  for  the  amount  without  the 
approval  of  the  Mayor.  "It  is  doubtful,"  the  veto 
stated,  "whether  any  such  insidious  and  sinister 
assault  upon  self-government  in  Boston  has  been 
hitherto  attempted,  but  it  is  certain  that  none  like  it 
has  yet  been  imposed  upon  us." 

On  the  death  of  Mayor  Collins,  September  14,  1905, 
Daniel  A.  Whelton,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men, became  Acting  Mayor,  serving  until  January  1, 
1906. 

John  Francis  Fitzgerald. 

Born  in  Boston,  February  11,  1863;  served  during 
1906-07. 

Mayor  Fitzgerald  had  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Common  Council,  as  a  state  senator,  and  finally  as  a 
member  of  Congress.  His  plurality  over  the  repub- 
lican opponent  was  8,143,  or  less  than  one  third  of  that 
of  Mayor  Collins  in  1903. 


Mayors  or  Boston. 


59 


In  his  first  inaugural  address,  he  gave  special  atten- 
tion, among  other  things,  to  the  financial  burdens  of 
the  city,  the  escape  of  much  personal  property  from 
taxation,  the  reorganization  of  the  Street  Depart- 
ment, the  erection  of  a  new  city  hall,  a  hospital  for 
consumptives,  the  adoption  of  a  pension  system,  and 
a  largely  increased  installation  of  water  meters. 

As  a  result  of  the  Mayor's  contention  that  the  Street 
Department  had  become  unwieldy  and  altogether  too 
burdensome  and  compli- 
cated for  a  single  official  to 
manage,  an  ordinance  was 
adopted  in  1906  dividing  it 
into  six  separate  depart- 
ments. This  ordinance  was 
repealed  in  1908. 

Increasing  and  irritating 
criticism  of  the  financial 
conditions  of  the  city  and 
the  methods  followed  by 
his  administration  led  the 
Mayor  to  recommend  the 
appointment    of   a   finance 

commission  to  make  a  special  investigation  of  munici- 
pal affairs  by  authority  of  the  city  government  rather 
than  the  state.  In  1907,  such  a  commission  was  ap- 
pointed, consisting  of  seven  members  selected  by  seven 
leading  commercial  organizations  (see  page  182).  It 
was  instructed  to  examine  into  all  matters  pertaining 
to  the  finances  of  the  city  and  to  submit  its  final  report 
not  later  than  December  31,  1908. 

Another  body,  the  Water  Front  Commission,  ap- 
pointed by  Mayor  Fitzgerald  in  1907,  submitted  an 
important  report  on  needed  improvements  for  the  port 
of  Boston,  and  a  third  commission  instigated  by  him 
made  a  report  on  garbage  disposal. 

In  the  last  month  of  Mayor  Fitzgerald's  first  admin- 
istration, the  special  reports  of  the  Finance  Commis- 
sion, as  reproduced  in  the  newspapers,  attracted  much 
attention,  particularly  the  reference  to  certain  improper 
municipal  contracts  and  to  the  "present  alarming  in- 
debtedness of  the  city." 


6o 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


George  Albee  Hibbard. 

Born  in  Boston,  October  27,   1864;    died  May  29, 
1910;   served  during  1908-09. 

A  republican  and  former  postmaster  in  Boston,  he 

was  elected  for  a  two-year 
term  by  a  plurality  of  2,177 
over    John    F.    Fitzgerald. 
This  was  brought  about  by 
the    candidacy   of   a   third 
contestant,  John  A.   Coul- 
thurst,  who  was  nominated 
by   the    Non-Partisan   and 
Independence       League 
groups,    and    received    the 
remarkable  vote  of  15,811. 
Mayor  Hibbard's  admin- 
istration was  chiefly  made 
notable    by   the    investiga- 
tions of  the  Finance  Commission,  created  by  chapter 
562,  Acts  of  1908,  and  expiring  by  limitation  on  Decem- 
ber 31   of  same  year.      The  exhaustive  examination 
made  convinced  the  commission  and  a  large  number  of 
citizens  that  for  the  improvement  of  municipal  condi- 
tions a  new  charter  was  imperative.     In  1909  the  Legis- 
lature enacted  the  Amended  Boston  City  Charter  of 
1909  (see  page  13).      On  November  2,  1909,  the  voters 
accepted  the  new  charter  by  a  majority  of  3,894,  which, 
among  other  things,  provided  for  a  city  council  of  nine 
members  and  a  mayoralty  term  of  four  years.    Among 
the  various  new  features  of  the  charter  not  included  in 
the  popular  referendum  was  that  providing  for  the 
re-establishing  of  the  City  Record  as  an  official  weekly 
publication.     In  form  and  make-up  this  gazette  was  a 
reproduction  of  that  issued  in  1 898-1900. 

Mayor  Hibbard's  determination  to  give  the  city  a 
non-partisan  and  strictly  economical  administration 
was  realized  in  a  decrease  of  loans  from  $11,292,300  for 
the  two  years  1906-07  to  $8,268,300  for  his  term,  or 
1908-09,  also  in  a  notable  decrease  of  department 
expenditures.  An  average  annual  increase  of  such 
expenditures,  amounting  to  4.3  per  cent   had  occurred 


Mayors  or  Boston. 


61 


throughout  the  preceding  ten  years.  Furthermore,  the 
number  of  city  employees  (excluding  the  School  and 
Police  departments  not  in  control  of  the  Mayor)  was 
945  less  in  1909  than  in  1907. 


John  Francis  Fitzgerald. 

Second  administration,  19 10-13. 

The  election  for  a  mayoralty  term  of  four  years,  as 
provided  by  the  new  char- 
ter, was  preceded  by  a 
strenuous  contest  between 
ex-Mayor  Fitzgerald  and 
James  J.  Storrow;  but  not- 
withstanding the  arguments 
employed  against  Fitzger- 
ald and  the  great  resources 
of  the  opposition,  he  was 
elected  by  a  plurality  of 
1,402  votes. 

Mayor  Fitzgerald  had 
the  advantage  of  beginning 
his  second  term  under 
better  charter  provisions.  Most  of  his  first  inaugural 
he  devoted  to  the  financial  conditions  of  the  city. 
The  heavy  burden  of  debt  and  taxation  imposed  by 
the  state,  the  increasing  cost  of  maintaining  public 
institutions,  and  the  fact  that  so  many  advantages 
were  shared  by  untold  thousands  of  nonresidents, 
went  far,  in  his  opinion,  to  show  that  the  city  govern- 
ment of  Boston  was  not  chiefly  responsible  for  the 
extravagance  pointed  out  by  its  citizens. 

Some  important  departmental  changes  were  made 
by  the  Mayor  at  the  outset.  By  an  ordinance,  the 
Department  of  Public  Works  was  established,  com- 
bining the  Street,  Water  and  Engineering  departments, 
and  placing  them  in  charge  of  a  Commissioner  of 
Public  Works,  at  a  salary  of  $9,000  per  year.  Although 
the  City  Messenger  and  the  Clerk  of  Committees 
departments  had  been  abolished  by  the  new  charter 
along  with  the  Board  of  Aldermen  and  the  Common 
Council,  the  new  City  Council  had  power  under  the 


62 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


charter  to  establish  the  offices  it  deemed  necessary  to 
the  conduct  of  its  affairs  and  reappointed  the  officials 
of  the  old  City  Council,  but  at  reduced  salaries.  The 
permanent  Finance  Commission  established  under  the 
charter  had  begun  its  official  existence  the  year  before. 
Between  March  17,  19 10,  and  April  1,  191 1,  Mayor 
Fitzgerald  submitted  twenty-eight  official  requests  for 
investigation  and  report  by  the  Finance  Commission, 
the  more  important  of  which  referred  to  public  school 
methods  and  proposed  changes,  increase  of  teachers' 
salaries,  etc.  He  gave  much  time  to  city  planning, 
motor  fire  apparatus,  garbage  disposal,  playground 
extension,  high  pressure  fire  system,  laborers'  retire- 
ment plan,  the  City  Hall  Annex,  and  to  new  district 
municipal  buildings.  These  were  the  leading  improve- 
ments his  administration  sought  to  promote.  The 
annexation  of  Hyde  Park  occurred  on  January  1,  19 12. 
In  January,  19 14,  the  City  Planning  Board,  consisting 
of  five  unpaid  members,  was  established  by  ordinance, 
and  seven  district  buildings  containing  public  halls, 
branch  libraries,  baths,  etc.,  were  in  process  of  erection. 


James  Michael  Curley. 

Born  in  Boston,  November  20,  1874;    served  during 
1914-17. 

The  new  Mayor  won  over  his  opponent,  Thomas  J. 

Kenny,  by  a  majority  of 
5,700.  He  had  long  expe- 
rience in  municipal  affairs 
as  member  of  the  old  City 
Council,  subsequently  as  an 
alderman,  and  lastly  as  a 
member  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil established  by  the  char- 
ter of  1909.  Still  later  he 
had  been  a  member  of  Con- 
gress. 

Mayor  Curley  was  the 
first  in  the  long  line  of 
Mayors  who  in  his  inaugu- 
ral address  devoted  considerable  space  to  the  need  of 
developing  the  industries  of  Boston  and  of  the  greater 


Mayors  of  Boston.  63 

utilization  of  its  port.  Among  his  other  recommenda- 
tions were:  monthly  conferences  on  city  planning,  in 
which  committees  representing  all  the  leading  interests 
should  participate,  the  establishment  of  a  central  pur- 
chasing department  in  charge  of  an  expert  buyer  at 
wholesale,  to  meet  all  requirements  for  supplies;  the 
abolition  of  the  correctional  institutions  for  boys,  more 
durable  street  construction,  etc. 

Mayor  Curley  took  a  strong  stand  for  a  gradual  can- 
cellation of  the  city  debt  by  the  substitution  of  a  pay- 
as-you-go  policy  for  the  wasteful  habit  of  borrowing, 
with  its  heavy  annual  interest  charges  and  temptations 
to  extravagance. 

In  19 15,  a  bill  was  submitted  to  the  General  Court,  on 
his  instigation,  calling  for  increased  tax  rates  in  order 
to  make  his  financial  plan  possible.  But  the  opposition 
was  too  strong ;  the  real  estate  interests  contended  that 
they  should  not  stand  an  increase  of  $2  or  more  in  the 
tax  rate  even  if  an  eventual  advantage  might  accrue. 

A  notable  event  during  Mayor  Curley 's  administra- 
tion was  the  establishment  of  the  segregated  budget 
system  to  have  supervision  of  all  details  and  method 
in  preparing  annual  appropriation  schedules  of  the 
departments.  The  total  debt  (exclusive  of  the  rapid 
transit  loan)  decreased  $5,799,141;  the  number  of  city 
employees  under  the  control  of  the  Mayor  was  reduced 
by  117,  while  the  departmental  expenditures  increased 
only  11.93  per  cent,  or  an  average  of  2.98  per  cent  per 
year,  as  compared  with  5.69  per  cent  average  yearly 
increase  in  the  preceding  administration. 

Like  many  of  his  democratic  predecessors,  Mayor 
Curley  has  been  a  persistent  advocate  of  home  rule 
for  Boston,  maintaining  that  the  parental  oversight 
of  Boston  affairs  by  the  General  Court  holds  back 
the  development  of  the  city  and  is  an  obstacle  to  the. 
effectiveness  of  the  municipal  government. 

Andrew  James  Peters. 

Born  in  Jamaica  Plain,  April  3,  1872;  served  during 
1918-21. 

Mayor  Peters,  who  had  represented  the  nth 
District  in  Congress  for  four  consecutive  terms,  came  to 


64 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


the  office  with  the  prestige  of  the  largest  plurality 
(9,075)  given  a  mayor  since  1903.  He  had  pledged 
himself  to  a  non-partisan  administration  and  advocated 
complete  political  freedom  for  city  employees  and  their 
classification  according  to  the  value  of  their  services. 
Decreasing  revenue  and  increasing  costs  made  addi- 
tional taxes  imperative. 
The  Mayor's  request  for 
raising  the  tax  limit  for 
city  purposes  from  $6.52  to 
$9.52  in  1918  and  1919  was 
granted  by  the  Legislature ; 
it  was  followed  by  an  in- 
crease to  $10.52  in  1920 
and  to  $11  for  1921.  The 
tax  rate  went  up  to  $21.20 
in  1918,  and  by  1921 
reached  the  maximum  of 
$24.70,  the  mounting  bud- 
get of  the  School  Committee 
since  191 8  being  responsible  for  $3.55  of  this  increase. 
Rising  tax  rates  were  the  rule  throughout  the  country, 
and  in  most  cities  Boston's  rate  was  exceeded.  During 
Mayor  Peters'  administration  the  actual  income  in 
excess  of  the  total  estimated  income  was  $3,769,327 
in  1919,  $3,817,250  in  1920,  and  $2,046,809  in  1921, 
while  the  net  debt  was  reduced  by  $4,657,166  or,  with 
the  rapid  transit  debt  omitted,  $6,998,166. 

Special  attention  to  street  improvement  resulted  in 
the  construction  or  repaving  of  313  miles  of  roadway 
and  75  miles  of  artificial  stone  sidewalks.  The  most 
important  single  undertaking  was  the  construction  of 
Stuart  street,  a  broad  highway  to  extend  from  Wash- 
ington street  to  Huntington  avenue.  The  ferry 
service  was  improved  by  the  additon  of  two  steel 
ferryboats  and  the  repair  of  others;  the  two  pumping 
stations  of  the  high  pressure  fire  service  were  completed ; 
and  also  new  public  buildings  costing  $1,582,000. 

The  Mayor  found  that  control  of  the  charitable 
institutions  by  unpaid  boards  of  trustees  was  imprac- 
ticable, and  proposed  to  merge  them  and  the  Penal 
Institutions  Department  in  a  single  institutions  depart- 


Mayors  of  Boston. 


65 


ment,  in  charge  of  one  commissioner.     An  ordinance 
to  this  effect  was  adopted  by  the  City  Council. 

Mayor  Peters  persistently  contended  that  the  munic- 
ipalities of  the  Metropolitan  District,  or  "Greater 
Boston,"  should  be  consolidated  in  one  governmental 
unit,  maintaining  that  a  merging  of  largely  identical 
interests  would  bring  far  more  civic  and  economic 
advantage  to  all  concerned  than  any  temporary  local 
disadvantages. 

James  Michael  Curley. 

Second  administration,  1922. 

At  the  dawn  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  incorporation  of  the 
city  of  Boston,  former 
Mayor  Curley  was  elected 
in  a  spectacular  campaign 
over  his  opponents,  John 
R.  Murphy,  Charles  S. 
O'Connor,  and  Charles  S. 
Baxter,  by  a  plurality  of 
2,470. 

Mayor  Curley  at  once 
made  it  a  chief  aim  during 
his  administration  to  work 
for  the  expansion  of 
Boston's  commerce  and 
industry,  and  to  that  end  established  a  Bureau  of 
Commerce  and  Industry,  which  has  borne  fruit. 
Hitherto  the  municipality  as  such  has  never  made  the 
development  of  Boston  commercially  its  particular  duty 
except  sporadically  and  without  a  set  plan. 

Another  new  municipal  venture  has  been  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  municipal  employment  bureau.  Within 
two  months  after  its  creation  the  number  of  unem- 
ployed in  the  city  had  been  reduced  from  approximately 
75,000  to  45,000.  The  placement  of  ex-service  men 
has  been  a  particular  concern  of  the  new  bureau,  and 
so  successfully  consummated  that  the  Soldiers'  Relief 
Department  has  been  able  to  save  upward  of  $20,000 
a  month  in  its  disbursements  for  the  relief  of  the 
veterans  of  the  late  war. 


66  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

At  the  birth  of  the  second  century  of  Boston's 
existence  as  a  city,  many  plans  for  the  betterment  of 
municipal  conditions  are  being  considered,  but  Boston 
has  again  been  obliged  by  the  General  Court  to  live 
within  a  tax  rate  for  city  purposes  of  $12.25. 


In  one  hundred  years,  Boston  has  elected  thirty- 
seven  Mayors  and  there  have  been  five  ex-officio  acting 
Mayors.  Five  Mayors  have  been  elected  for  other 
than  consecutive  terms,  and  twenty-five  were  re-elected 
one  or  more  terms.  The  Mayor  longest  in  office  was 
Frederick  Walker  Lincoln,  who  served  seven  years. 
Next  in  length  of  service  were  the  first  Mayor  Quincy 
and  Mayor  Fitzgerald,  each  of  whom  served  six 
years.  Seven  Mayors  served  four  years,  namely, 
Prince,  O'Brien,  Matthews,  Quincy  (the  third),  Hart, 
Curley  and  Peters. 

There  are  at  the  present  writing  four  living  ex- 
Mayors,  Thomas  Norton  Hart,  Nathan  Matthews, 
John  Francis  Fitzgerald  and  Andrew  James  Peters. 
The  chief  events  in  the  careers  of  the  different  Mayors 
are  recorded  in  the  preceding  pages.  A  critical  exam- 
ination of  their  acts,  the  ideals  they  followed  in  munici- 
pal administration,  and  the  ability  and  faithfulness 
they  brought  to  their  great  tasks,  lies  beyond  the 
scope  of  this  outline. 

During  one  hundred  years  the  civic  center  of  Boston 
has  shifted  very  slightly  from  its  original  location. 
Until  1830  the  Mayor  and  Council  occupied  the  Old 
Stone  Court  House,  also  known  as  Johnson  Hall,  on 
School  street.  From  1830  to  1841  the  Old  State  House 
at  the  head  of  State  street  served  as  the  City  Hall. 
From  1 84 1  until  the  present  time,  or  about  seventy- 
five  years,  the  site  of  the  municipal  administration  has 
remained  in  School  street,  and  for  more  than  fifty  years 
in  the  present  City  Hall,  dedicated  in  1865,  and  its 
annex  (completed  and  first  occupied  in  19 14)  located 
on  the  only  lot  of  land  belonging  to  the  city  in  Boston 
proper  which  has  been  continuously  devoted  to  public 
uses  since  the  early  days  of  the  town.  It  was  at  one 
time  the  site  of  the  jail. 


Public  Health.  67 


PUBLIC   HEALTH. 


While  Boston  was  still  a  town,  the  Board  of  Health 
was  in  charge  of  twelve  members  —  one  elected  from 
each  ward.  The  first  charter  placed  the  Health  Depart- 
ment under  the  City  Council,  which,  in  turn,  delegated 
its  control  to  three  commissioners  of  health.  •''The 
department  itself  consisted  of  two  branches,  one  con- 
cerned with  the  enforcement  of  quarantine  regulations, 
the  other  having  control  of  sanitary  conditions  within 
the  city."  Josiah  Quincy  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
Mayor  who  clashed  with  the  Board  of  Health  in  the 
early  days.  Among  other  things,  the  question  arose 
about  jurisdiction  over  the  streets  in  the  matter  of 
cleaning  them.  As  Mayor  Quincy  himself  told  the 
story,  "the  control  of  carrying  away  the  street  dirt  was 
admitted  to  be  within  the  power  of  the  Mayor  and  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  but  of  the  house  dirt  the  Board  of 
Aldermen  claimed  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  and  denied 
the  right  of  inter-meddling  on  that  subject.  What 
was  house  dirt  and  what  was  street  dirt  and  whether 
yard  dirt  belonged  to  either  and  to  which,  began  to  be 
questions  of  solemn  and  dividing  import." 

The  differences  between  Mayor  Quincy  and  the  three- 
headed  Board  of  Health  led  in  1824  to  its  displacement 
by  a  single  commissioner:-'''  (Mayor  Quincy  established 
a  thorough  system  of  street  cleaning  and  of  collecting 
garbage.  He  purchased  horses  and  wagons  to  facili- 
tate the  workj  In  the  earlier  days  the  street  dirt  had 
been  considered  the  property  of  the  farmers,  "who  came 
when  they  pleased,  took  what  they  pleased,  in  the 
manner  they  pleased."  This  may  have  been  a  cheap 
method,  but  it  was  costly  from  the  point  of  view  of 
public  health.  The  collection  of  house  offal  was  also 
taken  over  by  the  Board  of  Health;  formerly  it  had 
been  done  by  contractors. 

The  degree  of  cleanliness  obtained  and  the  abatement 
of  nuisances  under  Mayor  Quincy  had  the  effect  of  per- 
ceptibly lowering  the  death  rate,  which  is  stated  to  have 


68  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

been  20  per  1,000  inhabitants  in  1825,  as  against  23 
per  1,000  for  the  preceding  ten  years.  The  Mayor 
himself  was  very  much  satisfied  with  the  result  of  his 
efforts,  for  he  wrote  on  the  20th  of  July,  1825,  in  reply 
to  a  letter  from  one  of  the  city  authorities  of  Philadel- 
phia, as  follows:  "So  well  regulated  are  our  city  teams 
and  operations  that,  notwithstanding  the  excessive  heat 
of  last  week,  the  whole  number  of  complaints  for  neglect 
in  carrying  away  the  household,  dirt  in  the  whole  city 
for  that  week  was  but  four.  JI  do  not  believe  it  is 
possible  for  any  city  of  equal  population  to  carry  into 
effect  this  species  of  cleaning  at  a  less  expense,  or  more 
thoroughly  or  to  more  general  satisfaction." 

Mayor  Quincy's  successor  bore  testimony  to  the 
street  cleaning  campaign  started  by  his  predecessor, 
but  characterized  the  sweeping  and  cleaning  of  the 
streets  as  "practised  to  a  needless  and  pernicious 
extreme."  But  the  citizens  once  having  become  accus- 
tomed to  the  sanitary  conditions  prevailing  under 
Mayor  Quincy  insisted  that  the  standards  he  set 
should  be  maintained. 

Naturally,  ^these  improvements  cost  considerable 
money;  in  other  words,  the  expenditure  for  health 
purposes  was  more  than  doubled  in  a  few  years.  An 
extraordinary  expenditure  was  caused  in  1832  by  the 
occurrence  of  asiatic  cholera  which  made  it  necessary 
to  erect  temporary  hospitals.  The  Board  of  Health  at 
that  time  did  not  appear  to  have  attached  to  it  regular 
physicians. 

The  Health  Department  proceeded  on  the  lines  laid 
out  by  Mayor  Quincy  until  1847,  when  the  control  of 
the  department  was  transferred  to  the  Board  of  Mayor 
and  Aldermen.  The  reasons  for  this  change  are  a 
little  obscure.  Meanwhile  expenditures  for  health  pur- 
poses had  advanced  rapidly.  In  1844,  they  stood  at 
$33,800,  but  by  1859  had  reached  a  total  of  $140,288. 

The  control  of  the  health  of  the  city  by  the  Board  of 
Aldermen  does  not  seem  to  have  been  altogether  happy. 
Many  questions  of  sanitary  science  had  arisen  as  the 
city  grew  in  population  and  required  expert  advice  for 
their  proper  consideration.  Previously  the  Board  of 
Aldermen  had  only  called  in  consulting  physicians  in 
times  of  emergency;   but  these  physicians  were  elected 


Public  Health.  69 

by  the  City  Council,  and  it  naturally  became  difficult 
to  secure  the  services  of  prominent  men  under  such  con- 
ditions. Moreover,  the  aldermen  were  not  always  dis- 
posed to  accept  professional  advice  which  might  run 
counter  to  their  own  notions  and  lay  bare  their  inca- 
pacity as  health  experts.  Gradually  a  demand  was 
made  for  a  change  in  the  organization  and  powers  of  the 
Board  of  Health.  Among  other  things,  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  there  was  no  proper  inspection  of  the  sale 
of  food  unfit  for  consumption.  Furthermore,  the 
board  of  consulting  physicians  had  attributed  the  high 
death  rate  of  upward  of  24  per  1,000  inhabitants  to  the 
lack  of  cleanliness  in  the  city  streets  and  the  existence 
of  many  "pest  holes." 

After  several  years  of  agitation  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  was  made  in  1871  to  establish  a  board  of  health 
which  should  be  independent  of  the  Aldermen.  Fin- 
ally, in  1872,  an  ordinance  was  secured  which  gave  the 
Mayor  power,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil, to  appoint  three  persons  not  members  of  the  Council, 
who  should  serve  as  a  board  of  health.  The  new  board 
was  given  all  the  powers  previously  exercised  by  the 
Aldermen  relating  to  public  health  matters,  except  street 
cleaning  and  the  collection  of  garbage.  It  was  also 
empowered  to  appoint  a  superintendent  of  health,  two 
physicians, —  one  for  the  city  and  the  other  for  the 
port  of  Boston, —  all  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Mayor. 

A  decade  earlier  the  city  government  had  considered 
embarking  upon  a  new  venture  distinctly  related  to 
public  health,  but  not  one  to  be  controlled  by  the  Board 
of  Health,  namely,  the  establishment  of  public  baths. 
In  i860  a  special  committee  had  been  appointed  "to 
consider  and  report  what  measures,  if  any,  can  be 
adopted  to  provide  such  facilities  for  cheap  bathing  as 
will  induce  all  persons  to  avail  themselves  of  the  means 
provided."  The  establishment  of  public  baths  was 
at  once  recommended,  but  had  to  await  the  termina- 
tion of  the  Civil  War.  Six  free  bath  houses  were  pro- 
vided in  1866,  but  only  for  use  during  the  summer 
months.  Mayor  Shurtleff  stated  that  the  benefit  from 
this  innovation  had  been  commended  by  visitors 
and   had   led    other   municipalities   to    adopt    similar 


70  1S22  —  Boston- — 1922. 

measures.  The  cost  of  maintaining  the  public  baths 
was  at  the  outset  a  charge  upon  the  Health  Depart- 
ment. An  added  expense  was  a  purchase  in  1866  of  a 
steam  dredging  machine  for  cleaning  the  docks  near  the 
outlet  of  the  sewers. 

The  greater  efficiency  obtained  under  the  Board  of 
Health,  as  established  in  1873,  was  shown  in  a  diminu- 
tion of  the  death  rate.  Among  other  things,  the  board 
also  helped  to  bring  about  a  better  disposal  of  sewage, 
and  thereby  checking  the  great  number  of  summer  dis- 
eases arising  from  a  defective  system  which  menaced 
the  health  of  the  city,  as  sewers  were  permitted  to 
empty  into  tide  water  on  all  sides  of  Boston. 

By  1887,  the  expenditure  on  account  of  public  health 
had  risen  to  about  $611,000  and  was  almost  trebled  in 
the  succeeding  decade,  when  it  reached  a  total  of 
$1,763,917.  The  expense  was  to  some  extent  offset  by 
the  receipts  of  the  department.  From  the  very  incep- 
tion of  the  health  service,  the  custom  had  been  estab- 
lished of  selling  garbage,  ashes  and  offal  to  advantage. 
There  were  also  other  sources  of  income.  At  one  time 
the  receipts  from  the  various  sources  had  amounted 
to  10  per  cent  or  more  of  the  total  expenditure  for 
health,  but  later  on  (1898)  the  sale  of  house  offal,  which 
had  been  the  most  important  item  in  the  receipts,  was 
discontinued  and  more  modern  methods  introduced  for 
its  disposal. 

In  the  course  of  years,  the  Board  of  Health  had  grown 
into  a  very  formidable  department  with  many  func- 
tions. It  had  charge  of  the  quarantine,  the  smallpox 
hospital,  the  public  bath  houses  and  certain  of  the 
public  cemeteries;  it  attended  to  many  matters  of 
inspection  relating  to  the  abatement  of  nuisances, 
licensed  undertakers,  etc.  The  board  also  had  special 
powers  granted  by  legislative  acts  in  regard  to  such 
things  as  defective  plumbing,  obnoxious  vaults,  etc., 
but  its  chief  function  was  the  prevention  of  disease  of 
all  kinds,  and  for  this  purpose  it  employed  many 
physicians  and  inspectors. 

It  is  curious  that  for  a  long  time  the  inspection  of 
milk,  vinegar  and  provisions  generally  was  in  the  hands 
of  special  officials  not  directed  by  the  Board  of  Health. 


Public  Health.  71 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  defects  in  the  working 
system  of  the  Board  of  Health,  its  efforts  showed  results 
in  a  lower  death  rate  due  to  preventable  causes.  Mayor 
Matthews  in  his  valedictory  address,  in  1895,  said, 
"The  average  percentage  of  deaths  from  these  causes 
(preventable)  during  the  last  ten  years  has  been  18.45 
per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  deaths,  while  during 
the  ten  years  next  preceding  the  percentage  was  26.78 
and  the  city  can  no  longer  be  officially  described  as 
'one  of  the  most  unhealthy  of  large  cities.'"  Mayor 
Matthews,  nevertheless,  found  that  the  death  rate  in 
Boston  from  preventable  disease  was  larger  than  in 
London  and  Paris  and  some  other  great  cities  and, 
therefore,  larger  than  it  should  be.  Under  his  admin- 
istration, in  addition  to  many  other  measures  for  im- 
proving the  health  work,  the  metropolitan  sewerage 
system  was  completed  which  added  greatly  to  the 
sanitary  measures  taken  for  the  protection  of  the  public 
health.  In  1893,  a  law  was  passed  which  gave  the 
Board  of  Health  power  to  compel  the  abatement  of 
nuisances  of  various  kinds  by  proceedings  in  equity. 

Among  the  measures  inaugurated  under  Mayor 
Matthews,  which  had  an  important  bearing  upon  the 
public  health,  was  that  of  a  better  method  of  street 
watering.  Previously  all  watering  had  been  done  by 
private  contractors  who  made  special  agreement  with 
house  owners.  The  cost  was  excessive  and  led  to  the 
passage  of  a  law  which  empowered  any  city  with  a 
population  of  30,000  inhabitants  to  appropriate  money 
for  watering  any  or  all  of  its  public  streets,  with  the 
proviso  that  any  part  of  the  expenditure  might  be 
assessed  upon  the  abutters.  Hitherto  the  city  had 
expended  a  ridiculously  small  sum  for  street  watering, 
the  first  specific  appropriation  for  this  purpose  amount- 
ing to  $50,000.  The  opposition  to  the  assessment  plan 
proved  so  formidable  that  the  city  was  restricted  to 
watering  only  the  macadamized  streets,  leaving  the 
rest  of  them  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  wishes  of 
the  inhabitants  under  the  old  contract  system.  It  was 
not  until  1897  that  the  city  began  to  water  all  the 
streets.  Within  a  four-mile  radius  the  cost  was  de- 
frayed by  special  assessments ;   beyond  it  the  city  bore 


72  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

the  entire  cost.  This  method  of  caring  for  street 
watering  was  financially  so  successful  that  the  work 
could  be  carried  on  without  any  expenditure  of  the 
city's  funds,  but  in  1900  Boston  took  over  the  entire 
cost  and  thereby  lost  a  source  of  income  which  also 
contributed  to  the  necessity  of  raising  the  tax  limit  from 
$9  to  $10.50. 

The  expenditures  for  public  health  were  increased 
after  1896  through  certain  innovations  which,  although 
not  under  control  of  the  Board  of  Health,  had  a  very 
direct  bearing  upon  public  health  in  general.  The 
reference  is  to  the  remarkable  development  of  public 
bath  houses  and  gymnasia  under  Mayor  Quincy. 
This  branch  of  the  municipal  service,  in  addition  to 
affording  great  pleasure,  contributed  much  to  improve 
the  conditions  of  cleanliness  and  health  in  many  dis- 
tricts of  the  city.  Mayor  Quincy  regarded  the  pro- 
vision of  public  baths  as  one  of  the  general  obligations 
of  the  city  "to  secure  in  some  measure  the  enjoyment 
by  all  of  at  least  a  minimum  of  elementary  social 
advantages." 

An  additional  reason  for  the  gradual  mounting  of 
expenses  for  health  purposes  was  the  adoption  of  new 
methods  of  disposing  of  refuse.  For  many  years  the 
custom  had  obtained  of  dumping  garbage  at  sea  or 
selling  it  to  be  fed  to  pigs.  Under  Mayor  Quincy,  the 
process  of  reduction  of  garbage  was  introduced  and  a 
contract  entered  into  with  the  New  England  Sanitary 
Product  Company  by  which  it  should  pay  the  city 
$50,000  per  year  for  ten  years  for  disposing  of  the 
garbage.  The  city  also  gained  some  income  from  the 
sale  of  papers  and  other  waste  under  contract  with  the 
so-called  City  Refuse  Utilization  Company.  The  ques- 
tion of  the  disposal  of  the  garbage  and  other  refuse 
has  been  a  bone  of  great  contention  throughout  the 
history  of  the  city;  but  it  is  not  essentially  a  part  of 
the  history  of  the  Health  Service. 
^-"^  The  Board  of  Health  continued  to  be  in  charge  of 
three  commissioners,  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  until 
\  19 14,  when  it  was  placed  in  charge  of  one  executive, — - 
i  the  Health  Commissioner,  a  "qualified  physician  and 
expert  in  sanitation,"  who  was  given  power  to  appoint 


Public  Health.  73 

the  four  deputy  commissioners  provided  for  by  the 
ordinance.  Experience  had  amply  shown  that  a  three- 
headed  commission  was  not  only  a  cumbersome  instru- 
ment of  administering  health  duties  but  also  one  lack- 
ing efficiency.  Another  important  change  was  the 
transfer  of  the  quarantine  station  to  the  United  States 
Public  Health  Service.  Hitherto,  Boston  had  been 
the  guardian  of  public  health,  not  only  for  its  own 
citizens  but  for  the  state  and  far  beyond,  through  its 
quarantine  responsibilities.  This  involved  a  cost 
which,  self -evidently,  should  be  borne  by  the  Federal 
Government. 

The  development  of  public  health  work  has  made 
such  rapid  strides  of  late  years  that  the  protection 
afforded  the  City  of  Boston  not  only  during  the  earlier 
periods,  but  down  to  quite  recent  times,  may  seem 
strangely  inadequate.  This  was  due  in  part  to  lack 
of  appreciation  of  the  necessity  of  health  work  and  in 
part  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  officials  charged  with  the 
execution  of  the  different  laws  affecting  public  health, 
yet  progress  was  made ;  and  with  a  better  understand- 
ing of  modern  health  work,  the  morale  of  those  who 
executed  the  laws  has  been  raised  to  a  higher  and 
higher  standard. 

How  well  the  city  is  able  at  the  present  time  to  safe- 
guard the  health  of  the  citizens  is  best  told  in  the 
reduction  of  the  death  rate  which  in  1920  stood  at 
14.05  per  1,000  inhabitants,  or  about  one  half  of  the 
death  rate  prevailing  in  the  seventies.  Self -evidently, 
the  reduction  in  the  death  rate  is  not  to  be  attributed 
solely  to  health  measures,  for  the  steady  improvement 
of  hospital  facilities  and  the  better  opportunities  for 
prompt  and  efficient  medical  care  have  had  a  share  in  it 
which  no  one  can  adequately  measure. 

To  what  importance  the  Health  Department  has 
grown  may  perhaps  be  most  readily  seen  by  mentioning 
that  it  consists  at  the  present  time  of  the  following 
divisions:  Medical,  Child  Hygiene,  Sanitary,  Food 
Inspection,  Laboratory,  Quarantine,  Vital  Statistics, 
Records  and  Accounts;  the  last  mentioned  division 
being  in  charge  of  the  Division  of  Vital  Statistics.  The 
implication  is  not  only  the  establishment  of  an  elabo- 


74  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

rate  machinery  but  of  an  expert  personnel,  for  it  is 
required  that  each  head  of  the  many  divisions  be 
specially  qualified  for  work  in  his  particular  field. 

In  the  last  twenty  years  the  Health  Department  has 
received  from  regular  departmental  appropriations  a 
total  of  $3,293,339.  The  expenditure  of  the  depart- 
ment from  1901-02  to  1909-10,  by  ten-year  periods, 
averaged  $212,616.  From  1911-12  to  1920-21,  the 
ten-year  average  has  been  $329,333.  In  other  words, 
the  per  cent  of  increase  in  the  last  ten-year  period  over 
the  first  ten-year  period  has  been  55.63  per  cent. 


Police  Protection.  75 


POLICE   PROTECTION. 


The  efforts  to  provide  adequate  protection  for  life 

and  property  naturally  took  root  in  the  time  when 

Boston  still  was  a  town.  !  The  custom  had  been  for  the 

selectmen  to  appoint  each  year  two  classes  of  police 

known    as   the    "watchmen"    and   the    "constables./ 
t> 

'  The  watchmen  were  on  duty  at  night,  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  single  captain,  and  patrolled  the  badly 
lighted  streets  with  lanterns  and  "rattles."  During 
the  first  decade  of  the  city  government,  there  were  not 
more  than  eighteen  men  on  duty  at  the  same  time. 
Ordinarily,  no  police  protection  was  required  during 
the  day,  and  there  appears  to  have  been  little  demand 
for  it  even  at  night.  The  constables,  although  being 
liable  to  regular  police  duties,  were  chiefly  concerned 
with  serving  civil  processes. j 

The  first  city  charter  did  not  affect  the  organization 
of  the  police,  except  that  their  appointment  was  now 
vested  in  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen.  There  was  not 
even  a  notable  increase  in  the  expenditure  for  police 
protection  for  about  ten  years.  KThis  department  of 
the  city  government,  however,  was  reorganized  by 
Mayor  Quincy  when  he  took  office  in  1823.  He  placed 
the  "internal"  police  under  a  city  marshal,  and  the 
"external"  police,  which  had  to  do  with  quarantine 
regulations,  under  a  single  commissioner/  With  a 
small  force  at  his  command  and  without  adding  to 
it,  he  succeeded  in  securing  better  protection  against 
criminals  than  had  been  known  for  many  years. 

During  the  incumbency  of  Mayor  Wells,  in  1833,  the 
increase  in  population,  which  now  amounted  to  about 
seventy  thousand,  made  it  necessary  to  augment  the 
police  force  or  the  "watch,"  as  it  was  still  called. 
Mayor  Wells  recommended  that  the  watch  be  sent  on 
duty  at  an  early  hour,  which  necessitated  an  increase 
of  the  force.  There  was  one  special  reason  for  this, 
namely,  the  influx  of  immigrants  in  the  early  thirties 
most  of  whom  were  Irish.     As  in  all  cases  of  an  intro- 


76  1S22  —  Boston — -1922. 

duction  of  new  elements  of  population,  friction  arose 
among  the  natives  and  the  foreigners  who  had  come  to 
settle  among  them.  This  does  not  imply  anything 
more  than  the  ordinary  racial  antipathy,  for  the  immi- 
grants were  not  accused  of  special  criminal  tendencies, 
but  the  difference  in  religious  observances  proved 
a  prolific  source  of  trouble  and  even  of  persecution. 
In  this  respect  Boston  merely  witnessed  what  has  taken 
place  in  most  communities  of  this  country  when  the 
immigrant,  no  matter  of  what  creed  or  race,  first  took 
up  his  abode  among  strangers. 

The  expenditures  for  police  purposes  increased  from 
J  $11,000  in  1832  to  $27,000  in  1834  In  the  last  men- 
tioned year  the  sudden  extraordinary  expenditures 
occurred  owing  to  an  "anticipated"  riot  in  August  of 
that  year.  On  the  night  of  August  1 1  a  mob  destroyed 
the  Ursuline  convent  in  Charlestown  (now  Somerville). 
All  sorts  of  dark  stories  had  been  circulated  about  this 
institution,  which  maintained  a  school  attended  almost 
exclusively  by  Protestant  pupils.  The  outbreak  was 
merely  an  indication  of  the  survival  of  the  religious 
intolerance  which  had  marked  the  early  colonists. 

It  is  unnecessary  here  to  give  the  details  of  the 
destruction  of  this  convent  by  fire;  the  story  has  so 
often  been  told.  The  act  was  denounced  at  a  public 
meeting  called  by  prominent  men  as  "a  base  and 
cowardly  act."  In  a  resolution  adopted,  and  after 
speeches  by  such  men  as  Mr.  Quincy  and  Mr.  Otis, 
Mayor  Theodore  Lyman  was  requested  to  appoint  a 
committee  of  citizens  to  investigate  the  affair  and  to 
bring  the  rioters  to  justice.  There  was  excellent 
ground  for  anticipating  a  riot  since  the  mob  announced 
its  intention  of  returning  the  next  day  for  new  de- 
struction. 

Several  other  conflicts  happened  which  made  it 
necessary  to  increase  the  police  force.  Among  them 
was  the  so-called  Broad  street  riot  that  took  place  on 
Sunday,  June  11,  1837.  It  originated  in  the  collision 
between  a  fire  engine  company  and  an  Irish  funeral 
procession.  Extraordinary  means  were  required  to 
restore  order.  The  police  force  proved  inadequate, 
and  the  day  was  saved  only  by  the  accidental  presence 


Police  Protection.  77 

in  Boston  of  a  company  of  mounted  militia.  Mayor 
Eliot  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  it,  and  Broad  street 
was  soon  cleared  of  the  rioters.  This  incident  espe- 
cially gave  rise  to  a  demand  for  a  larger  and  better 
organized  police  force.  In  1838,  legislation  was  ob- 
tained for  the  appointment  of  officers  for  police  duty^ 
only,  in  place  of  the  constables.  They  were  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  and  put  under 
the  control  of  the  city  marshal.  This  bit  of  legislation 
marked  the  beginning  of  a  permanent  force  of  day 
police  in  the  city  of  Boston.— 

From  1838  to  1844,  the  expenditures  for  police  pro- 
tection rose  gradually,  but  hardly  in  keeping  with  the 
increase  in  population.  In  1844,  the  total  amount  had 
reached  $57,000,  in  round  numbers.  Then  came  a 
sudden  increase  to  $73,000  in  1845,  due  to  the  reorgani- 
zation of  the  department  which  called  for  a  larger  force 
and  provided  for  an  independent  night  police,  under 
the  control  of  the  city  marshal. 

The  dual  system  of  police  protection  continued  in 
effect  until  1854,  when  the  watch  and  the  police  were, 
combined  under  a  chief  of  police.  This  brought  the 
expenditures  to  over  $173,000.  After  1849,  the  individ- 
ual salaries  had  been  added  to,  so  that /Constables  of  the 
watch  received  from  $1  to  $1.25  and  the  men  from  $0.90 
to  $1  per  day.  A  few  years  later  both  night  and  day 
police  were  given  $2.  By  1856,  not  only  had  new  mem- 
bers been  added  to  the  force,  but  the  erection  of  police 
stations  had  begun.  The  total  force  at  that  time 
consisted  of  two  hundred  and  forty-six  men,  or  one  to 
every  six  hundred  and  fifty  inhabitants. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  the  present  generation, 
the  policemen  were  not  placed  in  uniform  until  1858. 
It  was  done  in  order  to  increase  their  efficiency;  yet 
the  innovation  met  with  considerable  protest.  But 
citizens,  who  had  occasion  to  look  for  a  policeman, 
were  glad  of  the  change  which  made  it  possible  to 
distinguish  him  from  an  ordinary  citizen,  even  if  some 
held  that  the  uniform  was  an  old  world  custom  and 
not  in  keeping  with  democratic  ideas. 

The  wisdom  of  providing  more  liberally  for  police 
protection   was   again   demonstrated   during   an   anti- 


78  1S22 — Boston — 1922. 

slavery  riot  in  Court  Square  when  it  was  attempted 
to  release  Anthony  Burns,  a  fugitive  slave,  who  had 
been  arrested  and  was  temporarily  confined  in  the  city 
prison. 

In  i860,  when  Boston  had  a  population  of  more  than 
one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  thousand,  there  was 
still  another  collision  between  the  abolitionists  and  those 
who  were  opposed  to  the  anti-slavery  agitation.  A 
meeting  was  held  in  Tremont  Temple  by  the  aboli- 
tionists to  commemorate  the  anniversary  of  the  execu- 
tion of  John  Brown,  and  to  consider  the  question, 
"How  can  American  slavery  be  abolished?"  Many 
opponents  of  the  abolitionists  entered  the  hall, 
took  charge  of  the  meeting  and  prevented  the  original 
program  from  being  carried  out.  The  anti-slavery 
people  postponed  their  meeting  until  the  evening,  and 
although  there  had  been  small  riots  in  different  parts 
of  the  city,  the  police  had  been  sufficient  to  maintain 
order.  But  it  became  known  that  the  Mayor  held  two 
companies  of  cavalry  at  their  armories  in  case  of  emer- 
gency. This  implied  a  lack  of  reliance  upon  the  police, 
caused  severe  criticism  of  the  then  Mayor  Wightman, 
and  gave  rise  to  the  first  attempt  to  transfer  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  police  to  the  Commonwealth.  A  good 
many  people  favored  it,  even  among  those  who  had  no 
special  love  for  the  abolitionists.  The  affair  so  agitated 
the  public  mind  that  a  committee  was  appointed  by 
the  General  Court  to  look  into  the  conditions  of  the 
Boston  police  force. 

Public  sentiment  for  local  self-government  proved 
so  strong,  however,  that  Boston  was  permitted  to  man- 
age her  own  police  affairs  until  it  should  be  demon- 
strated that  she  was  incapable  of  so  doing.  The 
movement  for  the  appointment  of  the  police  by  the 
state  authorities  came  up  several  times  in  the  following 
years,  but  only  to  be  defeated. 

The  expenditures  due  to  the  inevitable  increase  in 
the  police  force  and  the  higher  rate  of  pay  rose  to 
$328,000  in  1863.  This  was  the  period  of  the  Civil 
War  and  of  extraordinary  conditions.  As  the  chief 
of  police  put  it  in  his  annual  report  for  1862,  "The 
labors    of    the    Police    Department    have    been    very 


Police  Protection.  79 

greatly  increased  by  important,  new  and  arduous 
duties  growing  out  of  the  unnatural  Civil  War  in  which 
the  country  has  been  plunged  by  mad  disorganizers 
and  fanatics."  As  an  instance  of  the  extraordinary 
work  of  the  police  may  be  mentioned  the  part  it  played 
in  quelling  the  draft  riot  of  July  14,  1863,  which  neces- 
sitated an  outlay  of  $30,000. 

Owing  to  a  failure  to  fill  military  quotas  by  volun- 
tary enlistment,  two  assistant  provost -marshals,  who 
had  been  sent  into  a  disreputable  quarter  of  the  North 
End  to  serve  notice  on  men  drafted  for  military  serv- 
ice, were  assaulted  by  the  wife  of  one  of  them.  The 
marshals  fled,  and  the  policemen  who  had  come  to  the 
rescue  were  nearly  beaten  to  death  by  the  mob.  The 
whole  North  End  was  soon  aflame  with  revolt.  The 
police  were  driven  out  of  the  district  and  took  refuge 
in  their  station  house.  A  similar  riot  occurred  in 
New  York  two  days  previously  and  with  partial  suc- 
cess. Heartened  by  this  news,  the  mob  prepared  for 
a  real  conflict  with  the  authorities.  Mayor  Lincoln, 
however,  was  equal  to  the  emergency ;  he  collected  the 
available  militia  companies  in  the  city  and  when  the 
mob  charged  the  Cooper  Street  Armory,  a  cannon  shot 
from  within  scattered  the  mob  which  broke  through 
Dock  Square  in  order  to  sack  a  gun  store.  An  advance 
guard  of  policemen  held  the  mob  in  check  until  the 
Mayor  and  his  military  forces  came  up  and  effectively 
dispersed  it. 

As  a  matter  of  safety  — ■  for  no  one  knew  what  the 
times  might  bring  — ■  the  police  force  was  increased,  in 
1864,  to  350  men.  There  was  considerable  dispute  at 
this  period  in  regard  to  the  necessary  size  of  the  police 
force.  Mayor  Lincoln,  for  instance,  stated  in  his  inau- 
gural that  the  ratio  of  police  to  population  was  not 
equal  to  that  in  New  York  and  called  for  more  men, 
and  a  small  increase  was  permitted. 

An  aftermath  of  the  Civil  War  was  an  increase  in 
crime,  as  noted  by  Mayor  Norcross  in  his  inaugural 
of  1867.  But  his  apprehensions  seemed  unnecessary 
to  many,  and  the  police  force  was  reduced  to  344  men. 
The  expenditures  for  protection  fell  a  little  in  conse- 
quence  but  still  remained  at  $433,000.     But  popula- 


So  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

tion  grew,  and  the  city  territory  was  extended  by 
annexations,  so  that  the  police  force  could  not  be  main- 
tained at  the  former  low  figure.  In  1873,  it  consisted 
°f  533  officers,  and  the  expenditures  were  $683,000. 
Still  it  is  probable,  as  Mayor  Pierce  contended,  that 
no  city  in  the  country  of  equal  population  was  pro- 
tected by  so  small  a  number  of  policemen. 

Meanwhile  the  method  of  appointing  police  officers 
was  modified  ( 1 863) .  Instead  of  being  appointed  annu- 
ally, which  was  regarded  by  the  chief  of  police  at  that 
time  as  detrimental  to  discipline  and  efficiency,  the 
police  officers  were  now  to  hold  their  positions  during 
good  behavior. 

The  Police  Department  had  been  commended  for 
its  very  efficient  service  in  protecting  and  restoring 
property  at  the  Great  Fire  of  1872.  Among  other 
things,  property  to  the  value  of  $400,000  had  been 
taken  by  persons  who  had  attempted  to  carry  it  away, 
but  the  police  recovered  the  greater  part.  Neverthe- 
less, great  dissatisfaction  was  expressed  over  lack  of 
discipline.  Mayor  Cobb  stated  in  his  inaugural  of 
1876  that  the  department  would  be  greatly  improved 
both  in  efficiency  and  economy  by  being  placed  in 
charge  of  a  commission. 

Hitherto  the  powers  over  the  police  had  been  divided 
among  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  the  chief  of  the  force. 
As  a  substitute,  it  was  proposed  to  have  the  Mayor, 
with  the  approval  of  the  City  Council,  appoint  three 
police  commissioners  to  serve  for  three  years.  This 
reform  was  finally  embodied  in  the  law  of  1878,  which 
also  provided  for  the  removal  of  the  commissioners  for 
cause  by  a  two  thirds  vote  of  each  branch  of  the  City 
Council.  The  commissioners  were  charged  with  the 
appointment  of  policemen  and  also  with  the  issue  of 
liquor  licenses. 

The  new  arrangement  did  not  last  very  long  and 
cannot  be  said  to  have  been  wholly  successful.  The 
commissioners  were  of  necessity  under  political  pressure, 
and  there  was  a  constant  change  in  the  personnel. 
Soon  a  new  plan  was  involved  and  put  into  operation 
through  the  law  of  1885,  which  gave  the  Governor 
authority  to  appoint  three  citizens  of  Boston  from  the 


Police  Protection.  8i 

two  principal  political  parties  who  should  constitute 
the  board  of  police.  These  commissioners  were  to 
serve  for  five-year  periods.  The  idea  underlying  the 
new  law  was,  partly,  that  by  making  the  commissioners 
state  appointees,  they  would  not  be  so  liable  to  political 
influence  on  part  of  the  City  Council,  but  especially 
that  they  would  enforce  the  liquor  law  with  more 
severity.  Thus  another  step  away  from  local  self- 
government  had  been  taken,  for,  although  Boston  was 
to  provide  accommodations  for  the  police  and  pay  them, 
it  had  no  authority  over  the  board  of  police  itself. 
The  civil  service  law,  which  had  been  enacted  the 
previous  year  (1884),  helped  to  make  the  tenure  of 
office  of  the  police  officers  more  secure. 

Of  what  tremendous  importance  the  police  force  had 
become  may  be  gathered  also  from  the  fact  that  the 
cost  of  its  maintenance  rose  from  $882,000  in  1874  "to 
more  than  $1,000,000  in  1886.  There  were  more  or 
less  successful  attempts  at  retrenchment,  resulting  at 
times  in  a  reduction  of  the  force  as  well  as  a  lower  scale 
of  pay;  but  this  condition  could  not  be  continued. 
The  heavy  cost  of  police  protection  from  1875  to  1886 
was  chiefly  due  to  the  unavoidable  increases  in  the 
force  required  by  the  expansion  of  public  grounds  and 
parks.  As  early  as  in  1875,  it  had  become  advisable 
to  provide  saddle  horses  for  the  police  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  city. 

The  steamboat  "Protector"  had  also  been  pur- 
chased at  a  large  outlay  to  enable  the  police  efficiently 
to  patrol  the  harbor. 

The  management  of  the  police  was  destined  to  under- 
go still  another  important  modification.  The  final 
change  in  the  law  affecting  the  government  of  the  police 
took  place  in  1906,  when  it  was  turned  over  to  a  single 
commissioner.  If  regret  had  been  expressed  over  the 
control  of  the  police  through  a  bi-partisan  board,  it 
grew  so  much  keener  when  the  department  was  placed 
under  a  commissioner,  appointed  by  the  Governor  of 
the  Commonwealth.  How  strong  the  feeling  was 
on  the  subject  of  taking  the  control  of  the  police 
away  from  the  city  had  many  times  been  shown  in 
the  inaugurals  of  different  mayors.     Mayor  Matthews 


82  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

condemned  without  qualification  the  state  control  of 
the  police.  Mayor  Quincy,  in  1896,  found  fault  be- 
cause the  expenditures  incurred  by  a  state-appointed 
board  were  increasing  in  an  unwarrantable  manner. 
He  would  at  least  "limit  to  some  reasonable  percentage, 
corresponding  to  the  growth  of  the  financial  resources 
of  the  city,  the  right  of  this  board  to  increase  from  year 
to  year  its  requisitions  on  the  city  treasury."  Mayor 
Patrick  Collins  characterized  the  appointment  of  three 
police  commissioners  by  the  Governor,  under  the  act 
of  1885,  as  a  "violation  of  the  first  principle  of  home 
rule,  and  a  needless  and  profitless  wound  to  the  pride 
of  the  first  city  in  the  Commonwealth." 

The  control  of  the  City  of  Boston  by  the  General 
Court  has  always  been  resented,  yet  the  tendency  has 
been  to  increase  rather  than  diminish  it,  presumably 
under  the  pretense  that  Boston  has  shown  less  and  less 
ability  to  manage  its  own  affairs.  How,  in  other 
respects  than  that  of  the  police,  the  General  Court 
has  taken  away  home  rule  from  Boston  and  accompany- 
ing powers  enjoyed  by  all  other  cities  of  the  Common- 
wealth is  mentioned  in  other  places. 

How  far  the  police  measures  of  1885  and  1906  were 
successful  as  administrative  reforms  cannot  easily  be 
determined  and  is  beyond  the  range  of  this  story. 
One  notes,  however,  that  the  rise  in  the  amount  of 
money  required  by  the  police  from  1886  to  1921  has 
been  great.  On  the  other  hand,  considerable  addition 
of  work  has  been  placed  on  the  police  which  formerly 
was  regarded  as  outside  of  their  province,  for  instance 
the  listing  of  polls  and  several  other  special  duties. 

The  police  pension  system  dates  from  1878.  The 
act  of  that  year  required  the  affirmative  vote  of  all 
the  members  of  the  force  and  the  approval  of  the  chief 
of  police  for  the  retirement  of  anyone  disabled  in  actual 
performance  of  duty,  or  who  had  performed  faithful 
service  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  fifteen  years;  but 
the  pension  could  not  exceed  one  third  of  the  salary 
they  received  at  the  time  of  retirement.  The  original 
pension  law  was  made  more  liberal  in  later  years,  and  by 
1908  the  outlay  for  pensions  had  risen  to  $131,000,  or 
about  6  per  cent  of  the  total  department  expenditures, 


Police  Protection.  83 

and  in  192 1  to  $184,382.  The  invested  money  of  the 
Police  Charitable  Fund  was  $207,550  at  the  end  of 
1920  and  that  of  the  Police  Charitable  Association, 
$232,005. 

The  expenditures  for  police  protection  reached  the 
sum  of  more  than  $2,000,000  in  1908.  There  were 
many  contributing  causes  to  this  increase  in  outlay. 
Laws  had  been  enacted  authorizing  the  appointment 
of  a  reserve  police  force  of  such  a  size  as  the  City  Coun- 
cil should  determine,  the  latter  fixing  it  at  100.  The 
maximum  was  again  increased  in  1888,  and  police  pay 
was  fixed  at  not  less  than  $2.50  a  day  when  on  duty. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  the  various  changes  in  the 
strength  of  the  police  force  from  year  to  year;  suffice 
it  to  note  that  in  1894  "the  Board  of  Police  asked  the 
city  government  to  provide  for  an  increase  of  patrol- 
men from  679  to  1,000.  The  authority  was  granted, 
though  it  did  not  seem  at  the  time  an  absolutely 
necessary  increase. 

Under  an  Act  of  1907,  the  force  received  an  addition 
of  100  members  in  order  that  there  might  be  granted 
one  day  in  fifteen  for  relief  from  duty.  Then,  too, 
the  salaries  were  increased  which  helped  to  swell  the 
total  expenditures.  Another  source  of  extra  cost  to 
the  city  was  the  installation  of  a  signal  system  which 
now  has  become  an  essential  part  of  the  police 
machinery. 

In  the  ensuing  years,  several  new  and  exacting  duties 
were  entrusted  to  the  police.  In  1908,  under  a  legis- 
lative act,  the  police  were  charged  with  the  task  of 
investigating  jury  lists  at  the  request  of  the  Election 
Commissioners.  In  the  first  year  of  this  law,  nearly 
8,000  citizens  were  investigated  "with  reference  to 
their  moral,  mental  and  physical  qualifications  or 
defects"  to  serve  as  jurors. 

The  advent  of  the  automobile  naturally  increased 
the  traffic  difficulties  in  the  city,  and  finally  the  Street 
Commissioners  were  obliged  to  establish  rules  and  regu- 
lations for  street  traffic  on  this  account  to  be  enforced 
by  the  police.  How  the  automobiles  have  augmented 
the  difficulties  in  keeping  traffic  "moving"  in  later 
years  is  too  obvious  for  special  mention.     But  to  the 


84  1S22 — Boston — 1922. 

police  it  meant  extra  work  and  finally  necessitated  the 
establishment  of  a  special  traffic  squad,  which,  of  course, 
required  an  addition  to  the  force. 

From  1910  to  1918  the  work  of  the  Police  Depart- 
ment kept  on  its  even  course,  except  for  the  strenuous 
watchfulness  and  care  demanded  during  our  participa- 
tion in  the  Great  War.  But  in  19 19  the  much  debated 
police  strike  took  place.  It  had  its  origin  in  the  ques- 
tion, "Whether  the  Boston  Police  as  a  body  should  be 
allowed  to  affiliate  with  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor."  The  story  of  the  acute  crisis  within  the  Police 
Department  on  account  of  this  ' '  strike  "  is  of  too  recent 
a  date  to  be  discussed  in  detail.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
it  gave  rise  to  turbulence  and  riots,  that  the  militia  was 
called  upon  for  temporary  patrol  duty,  and  that  the 
striking  police  were  finally  discharged  from  the  service 
in  great  numbers,  so  that  it  became  necessary  to  organ- 
ize a  new  force  of  patrolmen.  From  September,  19 19, 
till  November,  1920,  there  were  appointed  1,570  patrol- 
men. The  three  officials  chiefly  responsible  for  the 
"settlement"  of  this  famous  strike  were  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Police,  the  late  Edwin  U.  Curtis,  Andrew  J. 
Peters,  Mayor,  and  Calvin  Coolidge,  Governor.  The 
total  cost  for  police  protection  in  1822  was  $8,899.52  and 
a  hundred  years  later,  $3,787,446. 

The  numberless  details  of  the  work  exacted  from  the 
Boston  police  cannot  here  be  described  in  detail,  nor 
can  be  recorded  the  acts  of  bravery  and  general  faith- 
fulness to  duty  which  has  characterized  the  Boston 
police.  Even  in  times  when  "muck-raking"  of  city 
departments  was  in  fashion  all  over  the  country,  the 
police  force  of  Boston  was  credited  with  being  clean 
and  efficient. 


Fire  Protection.  85 


FIRE   PROTECTION. 


The  charter  of  1822  did  not  change  the  old  system  of 
fire  protection  which  existed  under  the  town  govern- 
ment ;  the  only  innovation  provided  that  the  firewards 
should  henceforth  be  elected  by  the  voters,  three  from 
each  ward:  Thus  the  firewards  constituted  a  board  of 
thirty-six  men  without  any  head;  and  the  old  method 
of  fighting  fire  prevailed.  -The  city  had  inherited  from 
the  town  some  loosely  organized  volunteer  fire  com- 
panies whose  members  were  not  under  pay,  but  re- 
ceived a  small  stipend  in  premiums  and  allowances  for 
their  quarterly  dinners.  The  members  of  these  com- 
panies were  exempt  from  militia  and  jury  duty.  These 
privileges,  together  with  the  circumstance  that  mem- 
bership in  fire  companies  gave  a  certain  social  standing, 
made  it  comparatively  easy  to  secure  the  necessary 
number  of  volunteers.  The  equipment  consisted  of 
hand  engines,  hose,  ladders,  buckets,  etc.,  all  of  which 
were  furnished  by  the  city.  The  companies  were 
controlled  by  the  board  of  firewards,  which  not  only 
had  power  to  order  citizens  to  assist  in  extinguishing 
fires,  but  also  to  regulate  the  construction  of  buildings 
and  the  storing  of  powder.  The  efficiency  of  the 
fire  companies  ''chiefly  depended  upon  the  aid  of  the 
inhabitants  applied  under  the  authority  of  the  fire- 
wards. They  formed  lanes  of  bystanders  who,  by 
their  direction,  passed  buckets  of  water  from  pumps  or 
wells  in  the  vicinity  to  the  engines  playing  on  the  fire 
and  returned  them  for  further  supply."  This  system 
had  its  origin  in  the  days  when  the  inhabitants  were 
few  and  "a  respect  for  the  rights  of  property  was 
general."  Great  conflagrations  were  uncommon  at 
the  time,  for  the  buildings  although  mostly  of  wood 
were  widely  separated  by  gardens  or  yards.  Insurance 
had  not  yet  come  into  general  vogue,  and  the  occasional 
loss  of  a  building  aroused  great  sympathy  in  the  com- 


S6  1S22  —  Boston- — 1922. 

munity.  "The  duty  of  joining  some  fire  company  and 
assisting  at  every  fire  was,  therefore,  regarded  as 
imperious.  'V 

It  fell  to  Mayor  Quincy,  the  second  chief  magistrate 
of  Boston,  to  better  the  system  of  fire  protection. 
Among  the  particular  reasons  for  abolishing  the  anti- 
quated methods  inherited  from  the  town,  Mayor 
Quincy  mentions  in  his  Municipal  History  that  Boston 
was  at  the  time  in  a  transition  state  and  so  fast  advanc- 
ing in  population  that  ties  of  individual  interest  were 
diminished.  Moreover,  he  found  that  "the  establish- 
ment of  insurance  offices  had,  in  most  cases,  transferred 
the  loss  upon  capitalists;  and  poverty  and  crime, 
multiplying  with  numbers,  began  to  regard  fires  as 
harvests,  from  the  gleaning  of  which  they  had  not 
principle  enough  to  abstain." 

The  members  of  the  old  volunteer  organization 
resented  any  proposed  change.  "To  be  first,  nearest 
and  most  conspicuous  at  fires  was  the  ambition  of  the 
enginemen,  and  the  use  of  hose,  as  it  had  a  tendency 
to  deprive  them  of  this  gratification,  was  opposed." 
In  short,  however  brave  and  fearless  these  volunteer 
firemen  were,  they  were  not  amenable  to  discipline, 
and  when  in  1823  they  demanded  more  money  for 
entertainment,  which  was  refused  them  by  the  City 
Council,  they  gave  notice  that  on  the  first  of  the  ensu- 
ing December,  they  would  deliver  up  their  engines  and 
resign  their  offices.  They  carried  out  this  threat,  but 
on  the  evening  of  the  same  day  Mayor  Quincy  was  able 
to  announce  to  the  City  Council  that  new  volunteer 
engine  companies  had  been  organized  in  connection 
with  every  engine  and  that  the  Fire  Department  of 
the  city  was  in  its  usual  state  of  efficiency. 
/  Mayor  Quincy  thereupon  proceeded  to  reorganize 
the  Fire  Department  from  top  to  bottom.  At  first  he 
met  with  considerable  opposition,  but  a  fire  occurred 
/in  1825  which  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  destroyed 
53  houses  and  stores  and  caused  a  loss  of  half  a  million 
dollars.  This  gave  strong  support  to  the  Mayor's 
contention  for  better  methods  and  stricter  discipline. 
He  had  still  to  contend  with  many  vexatious  delays 
and  opposition  in  different  quarters.     It  was  not  until 


Fire  Protection.  87 

1825  that  a  law  was  passed  abolishing  the  old  board  of 
fire  wards  and  transferring  its  powers  to  a  chief  engineer 
and  his  assistants,  all  of  whom  were  to  be  appointed 
by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen.  Meanwhile,  a  citizen 
who  had  been  a  member  of  one  of  the  board  of  fire- 
wards,  George  Darracott,  was  commissioned  to  visit 
Philadelphia  and  New  York  for  the  purpose  of  study- 
ing methods  of  fire  protection  and  organization.  When 
the  act  permitting  the  Mayor  to  establish  a  new  fire 
department  was  submitted  to  the  voters,  the  contest 
over  it  was  very  close;  in  fact,  the  act  was  adopted 
by  a  majority  of  only  183  voters,  so  tenaciously  did  the 
/citizens  of  Boston  cling  to  inherited  methods  and 
prejudices. 

The  first  chief  engineer  of  the  Boston  Fire  Depart- 
ment was  Samuel  D.  Harris,  who  is  to  be  remembered, 
aside  from  his  efficiency  in  building  up  the  department, 
for  his  refusal  to  accept  a  salary.  The  men  still  re- 
mained unpaid  volunteer  bodies,  and  he  believed  that 
they  would  more  willingly  trust  an  unpaid  leader. 
Although  the  insurance  companies  had  at  first  been 
somewhat  hostile  to  the  changes,  they  now  showed 
confidence  by  granting  substantial  reductions  in  in- 
surance rates.  -/From  this  time  on  the  outlay  for  fire 
protection  grew  year  by  year.  The  fire  apparatus  was 
added  to,  new  engine  houses  were  erected,  and  a 
system  of  reservoirs  throughout  the  city  was  provided 
for.  Under  the  town  government  there  had  been  no 
reservoirs  to  draw  water  from  in  case  of  a  fire. 

After  the  Fire  Department  had  been  placed  on  a 
satisfactory  basis,  the  expenditures  on  its  account 
began  to  decline  until  a  further  reorganization  of  the 
department  took  place,  in  1837/  The  immediate  cause 
which  led  to  a  reorganization  was  the  Broad  street 
riot  (see  page  75),  in  which  the  fire  companies  played 
a  conspicuous  if  not  altogether  commendable  part. 
When  the  affair  was  finally  investigated  by  the  City 
Council,  the  blame  was  found  to  rest  about  equally 
on  the  firemen  and  the  citizens  of  Irish  origin  who  were 
conducting  a  funeral  and  had  collided  with  the  firemen. 
The  occurrence  made  evident  the  lack  of  discipline  in 
the  department.     Mayor  Eliot,  who  had  quelled  the 


SS  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

riot,  believed  that  better  order  and  obedience  could  be 
maintained  with  a  small  force  of  paid  firemen.  They 
were  not,  however,  according  to  his  suggestion,  to  de- 
vote their  entire  time  to  fighting  fires,  or  to  be  con- 
stantly on  hand  for  that  purpose,  but  were  to  be 
called  from  their  regular  work  as  need  arose.  The  new 
system  did  not  lack  opponents,  for  during  several  weeks 
it  was  necessary  to  maintain  volunteer  patrols  all  over 
Boston  to  guard  the  city  against  incendiaries.  The 
allowance  made  by  the  city  by  way  of  compensation 
was  very  small,  ranging  until  1845  from  $150  a  year  for 
assistant  engineers  to  $65  a  year  for  the  "privates." 
*  The  chief  engineer  received  a  salary  of  $1,000  per 
year. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  forties  the  gnywth  of  the  city 
made  necessary  extra  expenditures  for  fire  protection. 
New  engine  houses  were  built,  as  well  as  reservoirs; 
and  the  city  became  more  liberal  in  its  pay  to  firemen. 
In  1845,  the  pay  of  the  "privates"  was  raised  to  $80 
per  annum,  and  in  1851  it  was  increased  to  $100. 

After  the  introduction  of  a  new  water  system  it 
became  superfluous  to  build  more  reservoirs  specifically 
intended  to  supply  fire  engines  with  water.  Still  the 
outlay  of  the  Fire  Department  grew  rapidly,  also  in 
consequence  of  the  installation  of  a  new  system  of 
telegraphic  fire  alarms  invented  by  William  F.Chan- 
ning,  a  citizen  of  Boston.  From  the  very  first  it  proved 
its  usefulness  and  was  generally  adopted  elsewhere. 
The  first  steam  fire  engine  was  introduced  in  1855, 
but  was  not  at  first  regarded  as  practical.  Several 
years  later,  however,  there  are  records  of  the  purchase 
of  two  additional  fire  engines  in  1858  and  of  four  more 
in  1859. 

The  cost  of  fire  protection  at  the  end  of  the  fifties 
amounted  to  $132,267  per  year. 

During  the  same  period  the  old-time  hand  engines 
were  rapidly  replaced  by  steam  engines  which  were 
still  drawn  by  men,  although  horses  had  been  used  to 
some  extent  in  drawing  the  hose  carts.  These  changes 
had  made  possible  a  reduction  in  the  force  of  the 
department  from  700  to  422. 

In   i860,   the  transition  from  old  to  more  modern 


Fire  Protection.  89 

methods  of  fighting  fire  had  about  been  completed,  and 
it  was  possible  to  effect  further  reduction  in  the  number 
of  the  force.  There  was  general  satisfaction  with  the 
new  order  of  things.  Expenditures  for  fire  protection 
increased  somewhat  in  the  first  years  of  the  Civil  War 
on  account  of  the  larger  pay  given  to  the  regular  force 
and  to  the  construction  of  engine  houses.  The  growth 
of  expenditures  in  1868  was  due  to  an  increase  in  the 
force  and  equipment  made  necessary  by  the  growth 
of  the  city.  Then  occurred  an  extraordinary  increase 
from  $491,394  in  1871  to  $756,526  in  1872  and  $812,205 
in  1873.  The  last  mentioned  increase  recorded  the 
effect  of  the  Great  Fire. 

On  Saturday  evening,  November  9,  1872,  a  fire 
broke  out  in  a  four-story  granite  block  at  the  corner 
of  Summer  and  Kingston  streets.  It  raged  until  Sun- 
day afternoon.  By  that  time  an  area  of  sixty-five 
acres  had  been  burned  over  in  the  center  of  the  business 
district  and  property  to  the  value  of  $75,000,000  had 
been  destroyed.  For  some  unknown  reason,  there  was 
a  serious  delay  before  an  alarm  was  given,  and  when  the 
department  arrived  the  fire  had  made  tremendous 
headway.  To  add  to  the  difficulty,  almost  all  the 
horses  in  the  city  had  been  attacked  by  a  distemper, 
for  lack  of  a  better  name  called  "the  epizootic,"  which 
for  over  a  week  made  them  useless.  The  department 
had  anticipated  difficulty  on  this  account  and 
taken  the  precaution  of  doubling  the  men  on  guard. 
There  was  also  a  serious  lack  of  water  for,  as  at  former 
fires,  it  was  found  that  the  pipes  were  not  large  enough 
to  supply  the  engines  with  the  quantity  required.  Help 
was  sought  from  all  the  neighboring  cities  and  towns, 
but  the  fire  had  grown  beyond  control.  In  the  con- 
struction of  buildings  at  that  time,  although  many 
of  them  were  of  granite,  the  art  of  fireproofing  was  not 
thought  of,  and  the  mansard  roof  then  so  common 
made  them  dangerous  in  case  of  a  great  fire. 

The  night  and  day  had  been  one  of  excitement,  the 
community  was  on  the  verge  of  a  panic,  and  it  was  nec- 
essary to  place  the  city  under  military  rule  to  prevent 
pilfering  of  property  and  to  establish  order.  Seven 
hundred  and  seventy-six  buildings  had  been  destroyed, 


90  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

all  but  sixty-seven  being  of  brick  or  stone.  The  city 
set  itself  bravely  to  the  task  of  affording  relief  to  the 
sufferers,  repairing  the  damage  done,  and  to  taking 
measures  of  precaution  against  recurrence  of  another 
conflagration.  Mayor  Gaston  appointed  a  committee 
to  investigate  the  fire  and  to  state  what  reforms  were 
necessary.  Legislation  was  urged  for  fireproof  con- 
struction, more  serviceable  water  hydrants  with  larger 
pipes,  additional  fire  apparatus,  more  men  and  more 
powerful  engines. 

Of  course,  as  usual  in  such  instances,  a  strong  crit- 
icism was  directed  against  the  Chief  of  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment, Damrell  by  name,  but  it  deserves  to  be  recorded 
that  his  work  during  the  fire  was  approved  by  the  chief 
engineers  of  eastern  Massachusetts  at  a  meeting  called 
to  consider  the  conduct  of  the  Fire  Department.  The 
fact  was,  as  a  joint  standing  committee  of  the  city 
government  reported,  that  the  great  disaster  was  not 
due  to  any  mismanagement  on  the  part  of  those  in  con- 
trol, but  to  the  lack  of  an  adequate  water  supply.  The 
emergency  seemed  sufficient  to  make  a  special  session 
of  the  General  Court  desirable  and  one  was  called  forth- 
with by  Governor  Washburn,  at  the  request  of  the 
City  Council.  Among  the  acts  passed  at  the  special 
session  was  one  authorizing  the  insurance  companies 
of  the  Commonwealth,  which  for  the  greater  part  had 
been  bankrupted  by  the  fire,  to  reorganize.  More 
important  was  the  act  "for  the  regulation  and  inspec- 
tion of  buildings,  the  more  effectual  prevention  of  fire 
and  the  better  protection  of  life  and  property  in 
Boston." 

Within  a  few  months  several  other  fires  occurred 
which  at  other  times  would  have  been  regarded  as 
very  serious,  and  on  Memorial  Day  of  1873  still  another 
fire  broke  out  that  burned  over  two  acres  of  land  and 
destroyed  property  to  the  value  of  $1,000,000,  includ- 
ing many  important  buildings.  Once  more  a  reor- 
ganization of  the  Fire  Department  was  demanded 
and  especially  that  its  control  should  be  vested  in  a 
paid  board.  Mayor  Pierce  had  recommended  this  step 
in  1873  but  encountered  strong  opposition.  Finally, 
and  one  may  say,  as  a  direct  result  of  the  fire  of  May 


Fire  Protection.  91 

30,  an  ordinance  was  passed  which  gave  the  Mayor 
power  to  appoint  three  paid  fire  commissioners,  with  the 
approval  of  the  City  Council,  the  commissioners  to 
hold  office  for  three  years.  This  was  a  great  step  for- 
ward since  the  commissioners  were  empowered  to 
appoint  all  the  members  of  the  department  and  to  fix 
their  rate  of  pay.  The  insurance  companies  showed 
their  faith  in  the  new  method  of  organization  by  reduc- 
ing premiums  for  fire  risks. 

The  new  commissioners  had  practically  completed 
their  work  on  reorganization  of  the  Fire  Department 
by  1874.  The  task,  as  already  noted,  involved  a  gen- 
eral increase  in  expenditures;  but  for  several  years 
following  the  outlay  was  kept  fairly  level.  It  is  greatly 
to  the  credit  of  the  fire  commissioners  that  they  were 
able  to  make  the  department  more  efficient  without  a 
large  outlay  of  money.  It  is  curious  to  note,  however, 
that  in  1877  there  occurred  not  only  a  decrease  in  the 
force  of  fire  fighters,  but  also  a  reduction  in  their 
salaries.  Beginning  with  1880,  the  expenditures  for 
fire  protection  again  arose  as  the  growth  of  the  city 
demanded  an  increase  in  the  force.  In  the  same  year 
(1880)  a  pension  system  for  the  disabled  and  infirm 
firemen  saw  its  beginnings,  under  authority  of  a  legis- 
lative act  which  provided  that  the  Board -of  Fire  Com- 
missioners, with  the  approval  of  the  Mayor,  might 
pension  any  member  of  the  department  who  had  be- 
come permanently  disabled  while  on  duty,  or  a  member 
of  the  "permanent  force"  who  had  served  fifteen  con- 
secutive years  and  who  had  become  incapacitated  from 
other  causes.  There  was  also  a  provision  for  annuities 
to  the  families  of  firemen  who  were  killed  while  per- 
forming their  duty.  The  amount  allowed  in  pensions 
was  one  half  of  his  salary  to  a  man  who  had  become 
incapacitated  while  fighting  fire  and  not  more  than 
one-third  of  the  salary  to  those  who  had  become  dis- 
abled for  other  reasons. 

The  pension  system  was  changed  by  subsequent 
legislation,  so  that  members  of  the  "call"  force  were 
made  eligible  to  pensions,  provided  they  had  served 
fifteen  consecutive  years.  The  allowance  to  the  en- 
tirely disabled  firemen  was  increased  from  one  half  to 


92  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

two  thirds  of  their  salaries,  while  those  who  retired 
after  fifteen  years  of  service  from  the  regular  force  were 
allowed  a  pension  equal  to  not  more  than  one  half 
of  their  salaries. 

In  addition  to  an  eventual  income  from  pensions  to 
members,  the  Fire  Department  has  its  own  special 
relief  fund,  under  the  control  of  the  fire  commissioner 
and  twelve  members  of  the  department  who  are  elected 
annually.     In  1921,  the  fund  amounted  to  $240,000. 

In  1880,  the  fire  companies  at  the  disposal  of  the 
fire  commissioners  consisted  of  so-called  "call"  com- 
panies and  "permanent"  ones.  It  was  proposed  to 
change  the  "call"  companies  into  "permanent"  ones, 
so  that  the  entire  force  could  be  placed  on  a  uniform 
basis.  It  was  found,  however,  that  the  cost  involved 
($157,000)  was  too  great,  and  nothing  came  of  the 
project  for  the  time  being. 

The  control  of  the  Fire  Department  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  three  commissioners  until  1895.  The 
only  change  had  been  that,  under  the  charter  provision 
of  1885,  the  power  to  confirm  the  appointment  of  fire 
commissioners  was  transferred  from  the  City  Council 
to  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  but  in  1895  the  General 
Court  authorized  the  substitution  of  a  single  com- 
missioner for  the  three-headed  board.  He  was  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Mayor  for  a  term  of  three  years 
without  confirmation  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen. 
There  had  been  a  good  deal  of  legislative  interference 
with  the  Fire  Department  on  one  pretext  or  another, 
and  the  appointment  of  a  single  commissioner  did  much 
to  reduce  it  and  to  promote  efficiency.  Political  inter- 
ference with  the  Fire  Department  has  been  charged 
on  several  occasions,  also  by  the  Finance  Commission 
as  late  as  1907-08. 

In  1887,  the  department  numbered  690  of  whom 
about  300  were  "call"  men.  In  1908  the  number  had 
arisen  to  about  1,000,  and  in  192 1  counted  about  1,170. 
The  reason  for  adding  to  the  force  was  the  system  of 
allowing  each  member  of  the  department  one  day  off 
in  eight.  In  1905  the  off  duty  allowance  was  increased 
to  one  day  in  five.  All  of  these  changes  necessitated 
an  increase  in  expenditures. 


Fire  Protection.  93 

The  cost  of  maintaining  the  Boston  Fire  Depart- 
ment in  1920  was  $3,223,133  (including  pensions). 
The  value  of  the  land  and  building  occupied  by  the 
department  was  $2,270,900  and  of  the  equipment, 
$1,350,000.  To  these  staggering  totals  the  costs  and 
investments  for  fire  protection  have  grown  since  1822, 
when  the  outlay  for  the  same  purpose  amounted  to 
$2,766.02. 


94  i§22  —  Boston — 1922. 


WATER   SUPPLY. 


From  the  earliest  times  one  of  the  most  perplexing 
questions  facing  the  city  has  been  that  of  securing  an 
adequate  supply  of  wholesome  water.  When  the  first 
city  administration  was  inaugurated,  the  citizens  of 
Boston  depended  chiefly  upon  wells,  although  some 
water  was  drawn  from  Jamaica  Pond,  for  already  in 
1795  there  had  been  created  the  so-called  Jamaica 
Pond  Aqueduct  Company,  which  had  the  right  to 
lay  water  pipes  in  certain  streets. 

In  1825,  a  committee,  appointed  to  investigate  "the 
practicability,  expense  and  expediency  of  supplying 
the  city  with  good,  wholesome  and  soft  water,"  re- 
ported that  it  was  practicable  and  expedient  to  plan 
for  this  purpose,  but  it  had  qualms  about  incurring  the 
unavoidable  debt.  It  did,  however,  recommend  the 
appointment  of  an  expert,  Professor  Daniel  Tread  well, 
who  advised  that  water  be  procured  from  the  Charles 
River  above  the  falls  at  Watertown  and  from  Spot  Pond 
in  Stoneham,  estimating  the  cost  from  either  source  at 
$6,000,000  or  $7,000,000.  /'Mayor  Quincy  strongly 
urged  that  an  adequate  water  supply  be  secured,  but 
favored  having  it  done  under  municipal  ownership, 
after  the  manner  of  Philadelphia,  and  he  persuaded 
the  City  Council  not  to  accept  the  offer  of  certain 
capitalists  who  were  ready  to  finance  the  introduction 
of  city  water.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  secure  options 
on  the  water  on  both  sides  of  the  Charles  and  Neponset 
rivers.  But  he  preached  to  deaf  ears;  sentiment  was 
strongly  against  adding  to  the  city  debt,  and  he  was 
forced  to  relinquish  his  plans. 

Both  Mayor  Otis,  who  followed  Quincy,  and  Mayor 
Theodore  Lyman,  Jr.  (1835),  strongly  favored  the  intro- 
duction of  a  water  system.  'Under  Mayor  Lyman,  a 
second  survey,  was  made  through  Col.  Loammi  Bald- 
win, who  recommended  that  water  be  drawn  from 
Long  Pond  in  Natick,  the  present  Lake  Cochituate,  and 


Water  Supply.  95 

estimated  the  cost  at  $750,000.  Additional  investi- 
gations were  made  in  1837  by  a  special  commission 
but  without  achieving  concrete  results.  The  panic  of 
1837  made  it  "inexpedient  to  adopt  any  measures  at 
the  present  time  for  raising  funds"  for  a  water  supply. 
Yet  in  1838  it  was  urged  that  work  be  begun  "because 
the  financial  stringency  was,  after  all,  but  a  temporary 
phase,"  and  that  "the  contemplated  undertaking  would 
be  a  means  of  alleviating  the  distress  of  those  who  de- 
pend on  labor  for  support."  Mayor  Eliot  was  in- 
structed by  the  Council  to  apply  for  the  necessary  legis- 
lative permission.  Still  the  sentiment  of  the  commu- 
nity was  not  ripe  for  the  venture,  and  no  action  was 
taken.  The  cry  in  1838  was  for  retrenchment  and 
safeguarding  the  city's  credit f" 

For  twelve  years  the  subject  of  providing  a  water 
supply  had  been  actively  discussed  without  any  con- 
clusion being  reached.  At  last,  in  1844,  when  the 
finances  of  the  city  had  been  improved,  the  plans  for 
city  water  were  taken  up  in  earnest.  Three  commis- 
sioners, Nathan  Hale,  James  F.  Baldwin  and  P.  T. 
Jackson  were  appointed  to  perfect  them  and  draw  up 
estimates.  They  had  selected  Long  Pond  as  a  source 
of  supply  and  calculated  the  cost  of  bringing  the 
water  into  Boston,  including  its  distribution,  at  about 
$2,600,000.  The  necessary  enabling  act  was  obtained 
from  the  General  Court  and  accepted  by  the  voters  in 
April  of  1846.  Under  this  act,  three  commissioners, 
appointed  by  the  City  Council  and  holding  office  for 
three  years,  were  to  direct  the  building  of  the  water 
works.  To  meet  the  expenses,  Boston  was  given  the 
right  to  make  a  water  loan  of  $3,000,000.  There  was 
no  other  way  of  financing  the  project  except  through 
loans. 

Before  the  completion  of  the  Cochituate  water  sys- 
tem, pipes  were  laid  to  Boston,  so  that  in  1848  the  citi- 
zens could  gather  on  the  Common  to  watch  the  streams 
of  water  which  were  thrown  up  in  the  air  for  the  first 
time  from  a  fountain  in  the  Frog  Pond.  It  is  related 
that  the  water  which  flowed  through  the  thirty-inch 
main  pipe  to  the  fountain  on  the  Common  arrived  there 
twelve  hours  and  eighteen  minutes  from  the  time  it 


96  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

left  Lake  Cochituate.  The  celebration  on  the  Common 
was  a  public  affair  participated  in  by  the  dignitaries 
of  the  city  and  of  the  Commonwealth,  various  public 
bodies,  and  the  citizens  generally.  This  was  on  Octo- 
ber 25.  There  was  a  parade  and  speech-making  inter- 
spersed with  music.  James  Russell  Lowell  had  written 
an  ode  for  the  occasion,  and  addresses  were  delivered 
by  Nathan  Hale  and  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  then  Mayor  of 
Boston. 

When  the  Lake  Cochituate  Water  Works  were  com- 
pleted in  185 1,  it  was  found  that  the  total  cost  had  been 
$5,184,984,  without  adding  interest.  In  other  words, 
the  outlay  had  been  double  that  of  the  original  esti- 
mates, but  at  the  same  time  the  whole  system  was 
finished  on  a  larger  scale  than  at  first  contemplated, 
for  the  reservoirs  of  Brookline,  Beacon  Hill  and  at 
South  Boston  had  been  quadrupled  in  capacity,  and 
the  water  system  had  been  extended  to  East  Boston. 
All  of  this  meant  a  distinct  advantage  to  the  city,  but 
at  vastly  greater  cost  than  anticipated. 

The  three  commissioners,  under  whose  directions  the 
waterworks  had  been  completed,  were  supplanted  in 
1850  by  the  so-called  Cochituate  Water  Board,  con- 
sisting of  an  alderman,  a  member  of  the  Common  Coun- 
cil and  five  citizens  who  were  elected  annually  by  the 
City  Council.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  this  board  was 
to  purchase  the  property  of  the  Jamaica  Pond  Aqueduct 
Corporation  for  about  $45,000.  Later  on,  that  part 
of  it  lying  outside  of  the  city  limits  of  Boston  was  sold 
to  a  new  corporation.  The  new  water  board  had 
authority  to  fix  rates,  subject  to  confirmation  by  the 
City  Council. 

Before  long  the  new  water  supply  was  found  inade- 
quate on  account  of  the  constant  enormous  waste. 
Already  in  1852  it  was  estimated  that  the  per  capita 
consumption  of  water  in  Boston  amounted  to  58 
gallons  a  day,  or  double  the  quantity  thought  neces- 
sary at  the  outset;  and  by  1857  it  had  risen  to  73 
gallons  per  capita.  (The  consumption  of  water  in 
Boston  in  1921  was  at  the  rate  of  about  125  gallons  per 
capita.)  Many  unavailing  efforts  were  made  to  check 
the  waste,  for  the  only  remedy  naturally  lay  in  increas- 


Water  Supply.  97 

ing  the  capacity  of  the  waterworks.  The  dam  at 
Lake  Cochituate  was  accordingly  raised,  and  between 
1865  and  1 87 1  a  large  reservoir  was  constructed  at 
Chestnut  Hill.  The  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the  last 
mentioned  piece  of  construction  had  been  $900,000, 
but  when  it  was  completed,  exclusive  of  the  charming 
driveway  round  it,  $2,450,000  had  been  spent.  Aside 
from  the  cost  of  additional  construction  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  City  of  Boston,  new  expenditures  were 
necessary  in  order  to  supply  the  recently  annexed  ter- 
ritories of  Roxbury  and  Dorchester  with  water.  It  is 
said  that  the  reason  these  communities  so  readily 
consented  to  become  a  part  of  Boston  was  a  desire  to 
obtain  a  bountiful  supply  of  water. 

The  cry  of  waste  continued  even  after  the  introduc- 
tion of  water  meters  in  manufacturing  establishments 
and  the  engagement  of  inspectors  to  detect  careless  use. 
Although  some  good  results  were  obtained  from  this 
method,  it  became  imperative  to  seek  a  larger  water 
supply.  Temporary  help  was  obtained  by  making  a 
contract  with  the  water  board  of  Chariest  own,  whereby 
East  Boston  and  Deer  Island  could  be  supplied  from 
the  Mystic  River  Reservoir,  but  a  water  famine  in  the 
not  distant  future  still  threatened.  Investigations 
made  of  available  sources  of  water  within  fifty  miles 
of  Boston  favored  the  utilization  of  Sudbury  River  and 
Farm  Pond.  The  project  received  the  support  of 
Mayor  Cobb,  and  the  engineers  estimated  that  the 
cost  of  the  undertaking  would  not  be  above  eight  mil- 
lion dollars,  including  damages  to  mill  owners  along 
the  river  and  to  others.  When  the  hope  that  the 
Mystic  waterworks  would  yield  a  sufficient  volume  of 
water  had  disappeared,  the  board  was  authorized  to 
take  the  waters  of  the  Sudbury  River  and  bring  them  to 
the  Chestnut  Hill  Reservoir.  Again  the  General 
Court  granted  the  needful  authority.  It  deserves  to 
be  recorded  that  this  new  construction,  begun  in  1875, 
was  completed  in  1878  at  a  cost  of  $5,000,000  and  thus 
far  below  the  original  estimate. 

Pending  the  new  construction,  Boston  was  enabled 
to  secure  an  adequate  supply  through  a  temporary 
connection  of  new  sources  of  water  with  Lake  Cochit- 


98  1S22 — Boston — 1922. 

uate  in  1872.  In  1874,  Boston  took  possession  of  the 
Mystic  waterworks  by  the  annexation  of  Charlestown, 
thus  gaining  control  of  a  large  additional  supply  of 
water.  Moreover,  the  Mystic  system  produced  income 
sufficient  to  pay  both  maintenance  and  a  surplus  which 
could  be  used  to  reduce  the  heavy  debt  carried  by 
the  Mystic  waterworks.  This  time  Boston  showed  a 
special  eagerness  for  annexation  since  the  possession  of 
the  Mystic  waterworks  was  a  great  asset.  For  some 
years  following  no  new  construction  was  needed. 
The  work  of  distributing  water  went  on. 

From  1887  until  1895,  the  city  contented  itself  with 
building  storage  reservoirs.  From  the  first  it  had 
been  the  intention  to  build  such  reservoirs  from  time 
to  time.  At  the  outset  three  were  completed.  How- 
ever, the  consumption  of  water  grew  rapidly,  incident 
to  the  growth  of  population  and  the  waste.  Some 
economy  in  the  use  of  water  had  been  effected  and 
better  system  of  inspection  introduced,  so  that  the 
per  capita  consumption  fell  off  a  little.  But  the 
spectre  of  a  water  famine  rose  again  before  the  authori- 
ties. The  addition  of  more  basins  for  storing  water - 
from  the  Sudbury  river  did  not  prove  adequate.  More- 
over, it  was  clearly  seen  that,  in  order  to  safeguard 
not  only  Boston  against  a  water  famine  but  also  other 
cities  and  towns  in  the  vicinity  that  were  finding  their 
supply  inadequate,  it  was  necessary  to  attack  the  whole 
problem  from  a  different  angle. 

The  establishment  of  metropolitan  districts  for  other 
purposes  gave  a  clue  to  procedure  in  the  case  of  the 
water  supply.  Therefore,  the  General  Court  passed 
an  act  in  1895  by  which  the  Governor,  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Council,  should  appoint  three  water 
commissioners  who  were  to  "construct,  maintain  and 
operate  a  system  of  metropolitan  waterworks  substan- 
tially in  accordance  with  the  plans  and  recommenda- 
tions of  the  State  Board  of  Health,"  which  had  made 
extensive  investigation  of  the  subject  at  the  instigation 
of  Mayor  Matthews.  The  metropolitan  district  to  be 
served  by  the  new  water  system  included  Boston, 
Chelsea,  Everett,  Maiden,  Newton  and  Somerville,  and 
the  towns  of  Belmont,  Hyde  Park,  Melrose,  Revere, 


Water  Supply. 


99 


Watertown  and  Winthrop.  It  was  provided  that  any 
of  the  towns  and  cities  wishing  to  take  advantage  of 
the  metropolitan  water  should  own  water  pipe  systems. 
Other  towns  and  cities  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles 
from  the  State  House  could  be  admitted  upon  proper 
application  and  by  making  an  initial  payment  to  be 
determined  by  the  board. 

The  Metropolitan  Water  Board  was  authorized  to 
take  the  waters  of  the  Nashua  river  above  Clinton,  and 
the  necessary  land  for  the  construction  of  a  great 
reservoir.  It  was  also  enabled  to  take  over  the  Chest- 
nut Hill  pumping  system  and  all  other  water  system  to 
the  west  of  the  Chestnut  Hill  Reservoir.  The  Com- 
monwealth was  to  finance  the  project  by  issuing  bonds 
at  the  request  of  the  board,  but  not  in  excess  of  twenty- 
seven  million  dollars.  Additions  to  this  amount 
became  necessary,  however,  from  time  to  time. 

The  first  great  work  in  connection  with  the  Metro- 
politan water  system  was  building  an  aqueduct  12 
miles  long  to  connect  with  the  Boston  water  system. 
This  was  completed  and  the  water  introduced  in  1898, 
but  the  building  of  the  dam  across  the  Nashua  river, 
and  filling  the  reservoir  to  its  high  water  mark  was  not 
completed  until  1907.  It  was  a  stupendous  under- 
taking, for  it  involved  stripping  the  soil  for  more  than 
6  square  miles,  the  removal  of  more  than  6,000,000 
cubic  yards  of  materials,  and  acquiring  more  than  12 
square  miles  of  land  on  which  originally  had  been 
located  6  mills,  4  churches,  8  schoolhouses,  492  houses 
and  other  dwellings  and  2  cemeteries. 

The  financial  transactions  between  the  Common- 
wealth and  the  City  of  Boston,  relative  to  reimburse- 
ment for  taking  over  its  water  works,  involved  a  vast 
sum  of  money,  and  is  one  of  the  largest  transactions 
of  its  kind  ever  made  in  this  country.  The  total 
amount  finally  paid  by  the  Commonwealth  for  the 
Boston  water  works  system  was  $13,923,715.  When 
it  is  remembered  that  the  various  agreements  entered 
into  by  the  two  parties  extended  over  a  number  of 
years  and  involved  innumerable  legal  questions,  one 
can  easily  realize  the  weight  of  Mayor  Hart's  words 
when  he  said  in  his  inaugural  in  1901,  referring  to  the 


ioo  1S22 — Boston  —  1922. 

settlement  of  water  payments  without  litigation,  "It 
is  doubtful  whether  history  shows  a  more  equitable 
settlement  of  a  claim  for  which  no  precedent  existed." 
The  many  delays  concerning  the  assessment  of  Boston 
for  water  purposes  by  the  Metropolitan  Board,  the 
distribution  of  the  moneys  received  from  the  state,  etc., 
are  not  properly  a  part  of  this  brief  sketch. 

When  the  Metropolitan  water  works  system  was 
finally  completed,  including  the  different  reservoirs 
built  by  the  city,  Boston  had  nothing  left  to  care  for 
except  the  distributing  system.  This  is  now  in  charge 
of  a  special  division  of  the  Public  Works  Department, 
directed  by  an  engineer.  The  Water  Division,  as  it  is 
called,  is  responsible  for  the  care  and  maintenance  of  all 
pipes  and  appliances  for  the  purpose  of  the  city's  water 
supply,  including  laying  pipes,  installing  meters,  plac- 
ing public  drinking  fountains  and  assessing  water  rates. 
The  supply  and  distributing  water  mains  of  Boston  are 
about  678  miles  in  length;  over  93,000  services  are 
actually  being  used,  of  which  about  75  per  cent  are 
metered;  there  are  nearly  10,000  fire  hydrants;  150 
public  drinking  fountains,  etc. 

For  the  time  being,  Boston  is  unusually  well  supplied 
with  plenty  and  wholesome  water.  But  it  is  so  diffi- 
cult to  stop  waste  that  it  has  already  been  stated 
officially  that  unless  means  be  found  to  prevent  it,  the 
time  will  not  be  far  distant  before  new  sources  of  supply 
will  have  to  be  secured  at  an  enormous  cost. 

It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  the  intro- 
duction of  city  water  from  early  times  simply  spelled 
"outgo."  Under  the  first  act  authorizing  the  intro- 
duction of  the  water  system  in  Boston  (1846),  it  was 
expected  that  the  Water  Department  should  be  put 
on  a  paying  basis,  and  the  City  Council  was  given  power 
to  "regulate  the  price  or  rents  for  the  use  of  the  water 
with  a  view  to  the  payment  from  the  net  income,  rents 
and  receipts  therefor  not  only  of  the  semi-annual  inter- 
est but  ultimately  of  the  principal  also  of  the  'Boston 
water  scrip."  During  the  early  part  of  its  existence 
as  a  city,  Boston  labored  under  a  continual  deficit  on 
account  of  water  expenses.  From  1874  to  1895,  the  ex- 
cess of  expenditures  over  receipts  showed  a  gradual  if 


Water  Supply.  ioi 

somewhat  irregular  diminution.  Then  followed  six 
years  in  which  receipts  exceeded  expenditures.  During 
the  period  1902  to  1909-10,  an  excess  of  expenditures 
over  receipts  prevailed,  running  as  high  as  more  than 
half  a  million  dollars  in  a  single  year.  But  since  that 
time  the  excess  of  receipts  over  expenditures  has  con- 
tinued unbroken,  varying  from  $12,000  in  the  fiscal 
year  1910-11  to  $605,000  in  1921-22.  Higher  water 
rates  and  less  waste  are  responsible  for  this  encouraging 
showing  of  management  of  the  water  supply  and  its 
distribution  under  municipal  auspices. 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 
THE    PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 


The  story  of  Boston  as  a  center  of  education  in  a 
broad  sense  does  not  fall  within  our  scope.  We  are 
solely  concerned  with  the  activities  of  the  municipality 
itself  in  building  up  and  maintaining  a  public  school 
system.  It  may  be  said,  by  the  way,  that  especially 
in  the  early  days  the  location  in  and  near  Boston  of 
many  private  schools  and  institutions  of  learning 
influenced  to  some  extent  the  course  of  municipal 
government.  The  affiliation  between  the  early  Mayors 
and  Harvard  University  is  especially  noteworthy. 
The  citizens  of  Boston  have  always  had  it  to  their 
credit  that  they  regarded  expenditures  for  public 
education  as  one  of  the  last  to  be  stinted,  and  for  the 
sake  of  the  schools  they  were  willing  to  forego  or  to 
postpone  outlay  for  other  purposes  although  the  needs 
might  be  pressing. 

When  the  transition  was  made  from  town  to  city 
government,  there  had  already  been  created  a  school 
system  which  was  not  radically  revised  for  some  years. 
As  early  as  in  1789,  a  latin  school  and  six  grammar 
schools  had  been  established,  and  from  this  year  pro- 
perly dates  the  present  school  system  of  Boston,  for 
then  authority  over  general  school  regulations,  such 
as  the  appointment  of  masters,  fixing  salaries,  and  other 
general  expenditures,  was  transferred  from  the  select- 
men to  a  school  committee,  consisting  of  the  Selectmen 
and  twelve  other  persons  who  were  elected  annually. 
At  the  incorporation  of  the  city,  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men supplanted  the  Selectmen  on  the  School  Com- 
mittee, while  the  other  members  contiued  to  be  elected, 
one  from  each  ward.  In  1835,  "the  composition  of  the 
School  Committee  was  changed  once  more  by  electing 
to  it  two  citizens  from  each  ward,  the  other  members 
being  the  Mayor  and  the  President  of  the  Common 
Council.  This  old  "Primary  School  Committee,"  as 
it  was  called,  functioned  until  it  was  abolished  by  the 
charter  of  1854  which  placed  the  entire  school  system 
in   charge   of   a   school   committee,    consisting   of   the 


The  Public  Schools.  103 

Mayor,  the  President  of  the  Common  Council,  and  six 
citizens  elected  from  each  ward, —  in  all,  seventy-four 
members.  They  were  to  hold  office  for  three  years 
instead  of  being  elected  annually. 

Boston  as  a  municipality  thus  began  with  the  Latin 
School  and  the  English  High  School  for  boys  (erected 
in  1 821),  and  a  number  of  primary  schools,  originally 
established  to  avoid  giving  secular  instruction  in  the 
Sunday  schools.  The  schools  of  lower  grade  were 
intended  for  both  sexes;  but  until  1828  girls  had  been 
admitted  to  them  only  for  half  of  the  year,  that  is, 
from  April  to  October,  but  were  later  on  permitted  to 
attend  for  a  whole  year  until  sixteen  years  of  age.  The 
boys  were  required  to  leave  the  lower  schools  at  the 
age  of  fourteen  years.  Measured  by  present  day 
standards,  the  primitive  characteristics  of  the  early 
grammar  schools  were  outstanding.  The  children 
were  expected  to  have  only  one  school  book,  the  so- 
called  Dillsworth's  spelling  book;  the  Testament, 
Psalter  and  the  Bible  sufficed  as  reading  books;  there 
were  no  copy  books  for  writing  and  no  slates,  the 
cyphering  being  done  on  paper;  but  even  this  rudi- 
mentary equipment  was  regarded  by  some  as  excessive. 

No  provision  had  been  made  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  girls  until  the  movement  began  in  1825  for  the 
establishment  of  a  high  school  for  females,  which  had 
to  be  abandoned  in  the  face  of  a  strong  opposition. 
Even  Mayor  Quincy,  who  had  taken  an  exceedingly 
active  interest  in  the  work  of  the  public  schools,  joined 
the  opposition  on  the  ground  that  a  high  school  for 
girls  would  be  resorted  to  almost  exclusively  by 
daughters  of  wealthy  parents.  "The  standard  of 
public  education,"  said  the  Mayor,  "should  be  raised 
to  the  greatest  desirable  and  practicable  height ;  but  it 
should  be  effected  by  raising  the  standard  of  the  com- 
mon schools."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  high  school 
for  girls  was  operated  as  an  experiment  for  two  years. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  educational  work, 
and  one  who  by  his  lectures  and  writings  accomplished 
much  for  the  schools  of  the  period,  was  Horace  Mann. 
In  1837  ne  was  made  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts 
Board    of    Education.     Through    his    activity    many 


104  1822 — Boston — 1922. 

helpful  changes  in  the  school  laws  of  Massachusetts 
were  made,  and  his  influence  upon  the  development  of 
public  school  education  in  Boston  was  profound. 

Not  until  1834  did  Boston  undertake  to  build  her 
own  primary  school  quarters.  The  growth  in  expendi- 
ture for  schools  rose  year  by  year  with  increase  of 
population  and  greater  interest  in  education.  From 
1840  to  1843,  expenditures  for  schools  amounted  to  26 
per  cent  of  the  entire  city  budget.  Then,  as  now, 
salaries  did  not  keep  pace  with  the  development  of  the 
school  system.  The  only  branch  of  the  school  system 
in  which  women  were  employed  was  the  primary 
department ;  they  received  not  in  excess  of  $250  a  year, 
and  this  included  remuneration  for  the  rent  and  care 
of  the  school  room. 

During  the  mayoralty  of  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.  (1846-48) , 
new  and  larger  school  buildings,  both  for  primary  and 
the  higher  schools,  were  erected,  and  the  employment 
of  women  as  teachers  became  more  common.  With 
his  aid,  the  "double-headed  system"  of  supervision 
was  abolished,  under  which  a  grammar  master  and  a 
writing  master  had  divided  authority  over  the  schools, 
and  one  master  was  placed  in  general  control.  The 
office  of  a  superintendent  of  schools  was  created  in  1851, 
Nathan  Bishop  being  the  first  incumbent.  The  super- 
intendent was  elected  biennially. 

The  succeeding  Mayor,  Bigelow,  was  less  liberal  in 
educational  matters;  he  deplored  the  cost  of  the  new 
buildings,  saying  that  "the  splendor  of  the  edifice  is  no 
guarantee  for  the  education  of  the  pupil."  Perhaps 
Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  had  not  been  altogether  wise  in  his 
building  plans  because  the  movement  of  population 
was  away  from  the  older  residential  districts  and  left 
certain  schoolhouses  with  few  pupils.  Some  of  the 
buildings  were  sold  in  the  middle  of  the  fifties  for  about 
one-half  of  the  original  cost. 

Another  source  of  outlay  was  for  increases  in  the 
pay  of  primary  teachers  which,  in  1846,  was  advanced 
from  $250  to  $325;  but  this  was  hardly  in  keeping 
with  the  increase  in  the  cost  of  living.  A  committee 
appointed  to  investigate  the  subject  in  1853  said 
that  many  teachers  were  still  receiving  the  same  com- 
pensation given  them  sixteen  years  earlier,   although 


The  Public  Schools.  105 

the  salaries  of  teachers  in  other  parts  of  the  state  had 
increased  17  per  cent,  and  those  of  departmental 
officials  in  the  city  administration,  34  per  cent.  Not 
until  1857,  after  the  city  had  taken  over  the  care  of 
the  primary  rooms,  were  the  salaries  raised  at  the 
rate  of  $50  a  year  to  a  maximum  of  $450  a  year. 
There  was  also  some  increase  in  the  salaries  of  teachers 
employed  in  the  grammar  and  latin  schools.  At  the 
end  of  the  fifties,  the  per  capita  charge  for  school  pur- 
poses was  $2.39  and  in  another  decade  had  reached 
$5.82.  There  were  more  pupils,  larger  amounts  to  be 
paid  for  instruction  and  supplies,  as  a  period  of  high 
cost  of  living  had  set  in  which  was  further  augmented 
in  the  course  of  the  Civil  War.  Mayor  Wightman 
referred  in  his  inaugural  of  1861  to  the  rapid  increase 
in  expenditures  for  schools  and  characterized  it  as  "  a 
subject  of  great  concern."  Many  schools  had  been 
completed  in  the  years  immediately  preceding,  and 
outlay  for  new  construction  dropped  to  an  almost 
negligible  amount  in  1863;  but  permanent  retrench- 
ment was  impossible.  More  schoolhouses  were  needed, 
and  there  was  renewed  pressure  for  an  increase  in 
salaries.  The  annexation  of  Roxbury,  and  later  on 
of  Dorchester,  *  made  imperative  new  schoolhouse 
construction,  which  increased  the  outlay  for  school 
purposes  from  $643,774  in  1864  to  $1,602,750  in  1869. 
This  increase  included  an  advance  in  the  pay  of 
teachers  which  was  granted  somewhat  grudgingly. 
Since  other  employees  in  the  city  service  had  their 
salaries  raised  in  1863,  it  was  inevitable  that  the 
teachers,  whose  compensation  had  not  been  changed 
since  1857,  should  ask  for  more  pay.  The  reply  made 
to  them  by  the  committee  who  had  charge  of  the 
teachers'  petition  was  evasive,  if  not  to  say  ridiculous. 
The  committee  stated  that  "a  reduction  of  prices  is 
not  to  be  effected  by  an  increase  of  salaries  and  means 
of  expenditure,  but  by  a  persistent  and  patriotic  de- 
termination to  purchase  and  expend  with  economy, 
thereby  reducing  the  demand  for  consumption."  The 
committee  did,  however,  recommend  larger  pay  for 
teachers  in  the  lower  grades.  It  was  inevitable  that 
other  salaries  should  be  raised  in  proportion.  By 
1867,  they  ranged  from  $650. in  primary  schools  to 


106  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

$4,000  granted  the  head  master  of  a  high  school,  while 
the  masters  of  grammar  schools  received  $3,000.  In 
general,  the  yearly  increase  allowed  averaged  45  per  cent. 

In  making  provisions  for  schools,  Boston,  like  many 
other  cities  of  rapid  growth,  suffered  not  only  from  an 
increase  in  population  but  particularly  by  the  exodus 
from  residential  sections  which  were  turned  over  to 
business.  From  time  to  time  the  city  was  left  with 
empty  schoolhouses  on  its  hands  and  had  to  provide 
room  for  pupils  elsewhere.  Mayor  Gaston,  as  well  as 
his  successor,  Mayor  Prince,  was  strongly  opposed  to 
new  projects  for  school  buildings.  Mayor  Gaston 
remarked,  "There  are  limits  to  expenditures  for  even 
the  best  objects,"  and  declared  on  a  later  occasion  that 
in  constructing  schoolhouses  the  city  had  "in  some 
instances  exceeded  in  cost  the  limit  best  adapted  to 
economy,  efficiency  and  convenience."  Mayor  Pierce 
wanted  to  hire  accommodations  in  the  more  sparsely 
settled  portions  of  the  city  rather  than  to  build  great 
structures  while  materials  and  labor  were  so  costly. 

How  the  school  curricula  had  been  increased  by  the 
introduction  of  new  elements  of  education  is  a  matter 
of  detail  which  cannot  be  dwelt  upon  in  this  brief 
review.  It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  in  Novem- 
ber, 1858,  the  first  Boston  evening  schools  were  estab- 
lished and  proved  successful  from  the  beginning.  In 
the  year  following,  the  first  free  public  school  for  deaf 
mutes  in  the  United  States  was  opened  in  Boston. 
Women  became  eligible  to  membership  in  the  School 
Committee  in  1875. 

As  time  went  on,  it  had  become  more  and  more 
apparent  that  a  school  committee  of  seventy-four 
members,  as  established  under  the  charter  of  1854, 
could  not  manage  the  schools  efficiently  and  responsibly. 
By  an  Act  of  1875,  the  committee  was  reduced  to 
twenty-four  members,  to  be  elected  by  the  voters,  with 
the  Mayor  serving  as  Chairman  ex  officio.  Under  the 
charter  amendments  of  1885,  the  School  Committee 
elected  its  own  chairman,  but  the  Mayor  was  allowed 
a  partial  veto  over  all  votes  to  expend  money.  In 
regard  to  spending  the  money  appropriated,  the 
School  Committee  retained  its  independence. 

The  chief  question  of  outlay  concerned  the  building 


The  Public  Schools.  107 

of  new  schoolhouses.  There  was  undoubtedly  extrav- 
agance in  construction  and  particularly  in  the  demand 
of  the  communities  which  had  been  annexed  to  Boston. 
At  any  rate,  it  seemed  inexpedient  to  spend  at  the  rate 
of  $2,000,000  a  year  as  had  been  done  in  1874.  On 
one  side,  a  certain  portion  of  the  public  made  a  con- 
stant demand  on  the  Mayor  and  City  Council  for 
retrenchment.  On  the  other  side  stood  the  question 
of  satisfying  this  desire  without  hurting  the  schools. 
Mayor  Cobb  expressed  the  hope,  in  1875,  that  the  out- 
lay for  housing  purposes  could  be  much  reduced  be- 
cause the  most  pressing  wants  had  already  been  met 
and  particularly  because  "a  modest  architecture  and 
a  less  elegant  and  luxurious  style  of  finish  will  be  found 
quite  as  serviceable." 

It  was  true  that  the  city  had  more  than  met  the 
requirements  of  the  school  population  and  had  spent 
money  for  unnecessarily  costly  buildings.  Mayor  Cobb 
found  that  in  1876  there  were  ten  thousand  vacant 
seats  in  the  schoolhouses.  He  regarded  the  appro- 
priations asked  by  the  School  Committee  as  extrava- 
gant and  hoped  that  through  its  reorganization  a  more 
effective  co-operation  with  the  City  Council  might  be 
brought  about.  Retrenchments  actually  took  place 
for  a  few  years.  Money  was  saved  by  less  new  con- 
struction and  by  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  teachers 
through  the  consolidation  of  certain  school  depart- 
ments. Also,  expenses  were  brought  down  by  reduc- 
ing individual  salaries  to  teachers.  Thus,  in  the  school 
year  of  1877- 1878,  salaries  were  reduced  by  seven  and 
one-half  per  cent. 

The  next  move  in  the  contention  over  outlay  for  the 
Boston  schools  was  a  petition  to  the  General  Court  for 
a  law  limiting  the  expenditure  of  the  School  Committee 
to  the  amount  appropriated  by  the  City  Council. 
That  school  committees  in  the  State  should  have  power 
to  spend  money  at  will  was  pointed  out  as  an  anomaly 
among  the  laws  of  a  democratic  government.  Mayor 
Prince  supported  the  committee,  but  Boston  was  unable 
to  secure  the  desired  legislation.  Retrenchment  could 
not  last  very  long,  however,  for  the  population  grew 
rapidly,  especially  in  the  southern  wards  of  the  city. 
More    teachers    were    needed,    which    increased    the 


ioS  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

expenditure  for  instruction,  as  did  also  the  free  text 
book  law,  passed  in  1884.  In  the  preceding  year,  the 
first  appropriation  had  been  made  for  instruction  in 
the  mechanical  arts  in  grammar  schools. 

Aside  from  the  question  of  expenses  for  schoolhouses 
and  their  equipment,  a  constant  source  of  irritation 
was  the  pay  to  be  accorded  teachers  which  had  ad- 
vanced by  very  slow  steps;  for  as  late  as  in  1896  the 
maximum  salary  of  the  first  assistant  in ,  grammar 
schools  could  not  exceed  $1,212.  The  increasing  cost 
of  living  made  the  demand  for  higher  pay  seem  reason- 
able. The  situation  of  the  teachers  at  this  time  was 
really  unfortunate,  and  the  only  actual  advantage 
accorded  them  was  to  make  their  tenure  permanent 
(1889),  subject  merely  to  the  removal  for  cause  by  the 
school  committee.  Formerly  they  had  been  elected 
each  year,  although  their  re-election  from  year  to  year 
was  almost  a  certainty.  The  status  of  the  teachers 
was  bettered  in  1900  by  the  establishment  of  a  retire- 
ment fund,  under  which  old  teachers,  who  entered  the 
service  after  the  act  and  those  already  in  it,  wishing 
to  take  advantage  of  the  provisions  of  the  law,  were 
to  have  deducted  from  their  salaries  $18  a  year  toward 
a  retirement  fund.  Teachers  who  had  taught  at  least 
ten  years  in  public  day  schools,  or  thirty  years  in  all, 
were  to  receive  a  monthly  payment  from  the  fund. 
Later,  those  who  had  been  incapacitated  after  teach- 
ing for  two  years  in  Boston  were  included  among  the 
beneficiaries,  but  under  ordinary  circumstances  no 
annuity  was  to  be  paid  until  the  beneficiary  had  con- 
tributed the  amount  of  $540,  or  equal  one  to  the  annual 
assessments  for  thirty  years.  A  later  act  (1908)  estab- 
lished a  pension  fund  entitling  teachers  having  reached 
the  age  of  65,  or  all  who  had  served  in  the  public  day 
schools  for  thirty  years  and  twenty  of  them  in  the 
schools  of  Boston,  to  a  pension  not  exceeding  $180  a 
year.  The  required  money  was  to  be  obtained  by  a 
tax  of  five  cents  on  every  thousand  dollars  worth  of 
taxable  property,  in  addition  to  the  amount  granted 
for  school  purposes. 

A  cause  of  long-standing  friction  had  been  that  the 
School  Committee  possessed  power  to  make  its  own 
appropriations  and  frequently  exceeded  the  amount 


The  Public  Schools.  109 

voted  by  the  City  Council.  The  situation  grew  more 
acute  when  the  tax  limit  was  in  force.  It  has  been 
noted  elsewhere  that  Mayor  Quincy  (1898)  wished  the 
School  Committee  to  be  appointed  by  the  Mayor  and 
thus  placed  on  the  same  basis  as  other  executive  depart- 
ments, but  there  was  no  hope  of  realizing  so  far-reach- 
ing a  change.  Instead,  a  law  was  secured  under  which, 
before  the  first  day  of  March  of  each  year,  the  School 
Committee,  by  a  two  thirds  vote  of  all  its  members, 
should  "make  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the 
public  schools  of  said  city  for  the  financial  year,  includ- 
ing repairs  and  alterations  on  school  buildings."  In 
other  words,  an  itemized  budget  was  required  and  the 
appropriation  in  question  had  to  be  within  the  tax 
limit,  but  could  not  for  the  first  year  exceed  $2.08  in 
each  $1,000  of  the  taxable  property  of  the  city.  The 
votes  of  the  School  Committee  were  to  be  subject  to 
the  approval  of  the  Mayor  and  could  only  be  passed 
over  his  veto  by  the  vote  of  three  fourths  of  all  the 
members. 

This  act,  which  gave  the  Mayor  a  check  upon  the 
wholesale  appropriations  of  the  School  Committee,  was 
subsequently  modified  by  legislative  acts  which  placed 
the  limit  of  expenditure  at  various  figures.  Thus,  an 
act  of  1 90 1  placed  the  limit  at  $3.40,  but  provided  that 
not  less  than  forty  cents  should  be  appropriated  solely 
for  new  school  buildings,  lands,  yards  and  furnishings. 
Earlier  expenditures  of  this  kind  had  been  met  from 
loans.  Meanwhile  certain  increases  in  expenditures 
had  occurred  through  additions  to  the  school  staff, 
such  as  the  provision  for  medical  inspection  and  sub- 
sequently for  nurses  to  assist  the  inspectors.  Further- 
more, as  already  noted,  the  pension  fund  made  a  new 
demand  on  the  city  treasury. 

The  question  of  providing  adequate  accommodations 
for  the  growing  number  of  pupils  remained.  The 
methods  of  meeting  it  were  not  fortunate  and  very 
costly.  Instead  of  keeping  pace  with  the  demand  for 
new  buildings,  the  city  would  allow  overcrowding  for  a 
few  years  and  then  spend  a  great  deal  of  money  for 
new  accommodations.  The  direct  result  was  that  al- 
most all  money  for  new  schoolhouses,  as  well  as  for 
construction  in  general,  had  to  come  from  loans. 


no  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

Now  the  authority  to  spend  money  for  schoolhouse 
construction  was  in  the  hands  of  the  City  Council,  to 
the  great  chagrin  of  the  School  Committee.  Its  com- 
plaints became  so  loud  that  soon  after  the  charter 
revision  of  1854,  an  ordinance  was  passed  to  the  effect 
that  no  schoolhouse  should  be  located,  erected  or  mate- 
rially altered  until  the  School  Committee  had  been  con- 
sulted, except  by  order  of  the  City  Council.  Of  course, 
the  City  Council,  as  a  rule,  ignored  the  School  Com- 
mittee, and  herein  lay  another  cause  of  contention.  To 
mend  matters,  legislation  was  passed  in  1 895-1 898- 
1899  giving  the  School  Committee,  subject  to  the 
approval  by  the  Mayor,  control  of  repairs  and  the 
erection  of  new  buildings.  This  was  not  a  happy 
measure  and  tempted  the  School  Committee  to  use 
questionable  methods.  The  remedy  seemed  to  lie  in 
establishing  a  separate  schoolhouse  department,  and 
this  was  done  in  1901. 
/"""  The  Schoolhouse  Department  consists  of  three  com- 
/  missioners  appointed  by  the  Mayor.  Their  duty  is  to 
select  sites  for  school  buildings,  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  School  Committee,  which  designates  what 
I — —provisions  should  be  made.  The  Schoolhouse  Depart- 
ment has,  however,  no  power  to  take  land  as  this  is  a 
privilege  of  the  Street  Commissioners,  or  now,  of  the 
Street  Laying-Out  Department.  Under  the  law,  land 
could  not  be  acquired  by  private  purchase  in  case  the 
price  was  more  than  25  per  cent  above  the  average 
assessed  value  of  preceding  years.  The  Finance  Com- 
mission has  held  this  condition  to  be  unfortunate  be- 
cause the  time  to  make  a  bargain  is  prior  to  final  selec- 
tion of  the  site.  The  Street  Commissioners  had  fre- 
quently to  pay  a  price  above  the  assessed  value  as  well 
as  above  prices  given  informally  before  the  land  was 
taken . 

Most  of  the  loans  made  for  schoolhouse  construction 
were  inside  the  debt  limit.  The  borrowing  grew  from 
year  to  year.  Under  the  authority  of  legislative  acts 
of  1 901- 1 902,  $1,500,000  might  be  borrowed  in  each 
of  the  three  years  1903- 1904- 1905  for  school  expen- 
ditures. In  all,  $5,500,000  were  soon  borrowed  and 
spent.  This  sum  was  thought  sufficient  to  provide 
adequate  school  accommodations,  and  that  thereafter 


The  Public  Schools.  hi 

the  allowance  of  forty  cents  from  the  tax  rate  would 
make  additional  loans  unnecessary ;  that  is  to  say,  there 
would  then  be  available  $500,000  for  new  school- 
houses.  But  the  amount  was  found  to  be  insufficient, 
and  the  city  did  not  wish  to  take  forty  cents  from  its 
tax  rates  for  new  schoolhouses.  New  legislation 
was  sought  for  permission  to  borrow  an  additional 
$1,500,000  inside  the  debt  limit,  and  later  it  was  pro- 
vided that  Boston  might  issue  bonds  not  exceeding 
$500,000  a  year  toward  the  same  end.  Even  this 
liberality  did  not  prove  enough,  for  in  later  years 
children  had  been  housed  in  portable  houses  or  in 
hired  rooms. 

How  the  school  system  has  entered  fields  undreamed 
of  by  the  founders  of  the  city  cannot  be  told  in  detail. 
The  development  in  the  mechanic  and  industrial  arts 
has  been  especially  notable.  In  1893  the  Mechanic 
Arts  School  was  opened,  and  since  then  a  commercial 
school  has  been  constructed.  More  important,  how- 
ever, from  one  point  of  view,  has  been  the  increase  in 
efficiency  of  the  School  Committee  through  the  special 
act  of  1905  which  reduced  the  size  of  the  committee 
from  twenty-four  members  to  five.  The  measure  has 
proved  most  salutary. 

In  all  Boston  schools  the  annual  registration  of  pupils 
is  more  than  145,000.  Among  the  present-day  school 
activities  may  be  mentioned  physical  training  courses, 
industrial  schools  (partly  maintained  by  the  state), 
manual  training  rooms  in  high  schools,  pre-vocational 
centers  for  boys  and  girls,  home  and  school  gardens, 
school  kitchens,  industrial  schools  (evening),  continua- 
tion schools,  a  school  for  immigrants  and  some  review 
schools. 

Under  the  law  of  19 12,  the  School  Committee  may  ~j 
allow  schoolhouses  to  be  used  by  associations  and  indi- 
viduals for  social,  recreation  and  civic  purposes.  These 
school  centers,  so-called,  make  the  appeal  that  "every 
plus  talent  of  a  community  be  used  through  it  for 
mutual  benefit."  The  response  has  been  gratifying. 
The  recent  agitation  for  better  salaries  to  teachers  has 
borne  fruit,  although  their  compensation  is  not,  per- 
haps, in  keeping  with  the  responsibility  and  value  of 
their  work  to  the  community.  ^ 


ii2  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 


THE    FRANKLIN   UNION. 


An  important  public  industrial  school,  "The  Franklin 
Union,"  conducted  by  a  special  municipal  board, 
"The  Corporation  and  Managers  of  the  Franklin 
Fund,"  was  opened  in  1908  in  a  commodious,  specially- 
planned  building,  costing,  with  equipment,  $402,718, 
at  the  corner  of  Applet  on  and  Berkeley  streets. 

The  Franklin  Fund  is  the  accumulation  of  a  bequest 
of  one  thousand  pounds  to  "the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Boston  in  Massachusetts"  made  by  Benjamin 
Franklin,  in  a  codicil  to  his  will  dated  June  23,  1789. 
The  codicil  provided  that  the  fund,  "if  accepted  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Boston,"  be  managed 
"under  the  direction  of  the  Selectmen,  united  with  the 
Minister  of  the  oldest  Episcopalian,  Congregational 
and  Presbyterian  Churches  in  that  Town." 

Dr.  Franklin,  who  died  April  17,  1790,  calculated 
that,  in  one  hundred  years,  the  thousand  pounds 
would  grow  to  £131,000,  "of  which,"  he  said,  "I 
would  have  the  managers  then  lay  out  at  their  dis- 
cretion £100,000  in  Public  Works  which  may  be  judged 
of  most  general  utility  to  the  Inhabitants.  The 
remaining  £31,000,  I  would  have  continued  to  be  let 
out  on  interest  for  another  hundred  years."  The 
town  accepted  the  donation  at  a  town  meeting  held 
June  1,  1790. 

In  1905,  the  City  Treasurer  received  from  Mr. 
Andrew  Carnegie  $408,396,  an  amount  equal  to  the 
Franklin  Fund  in  August,  1904,  which  Mr.  Carnegie 
had  agreed  to  duplicate.  Only  the  annual  income 
from  this  fund  is  used.  On  January  31,  1907,  the 
amount  of  the  "accumulated"  fund  available  to  the 
managers  was  $438,742,  most  of  which  has  been  ex- 
pended for  the  Franklin  Union  Building. 

The  building  contains  twenty-four  classrooms  and 
six  draughting  rooms,  where  about  1,600  students 
receive  instruction,  the  fees  ranging  from  $4  to  $15; 
a  technical  and  scientific  library ;  and  a  large  hall  with 
a  seating  capacity  of  1,000  for  lectures,  concerts,  etc. 


The  Public  Library.  113 


THE   PUBLIC   LIBRARY. 


The  Public  Library  of  the  City  of  Boston  was  not 
the  first  of  its  kind  to  be  established  in  Massachusetts, 
for  this  honor  belongs  to  the  town  of  Orange,  which  had 
a  public  library  in  1846,  was  followed  by  Way  land  in 

1850,  and  possibly  by  other  towns.  The  General 
Court  had  given  authority  in  1847  to  raise  money  by 
taxation  for  school  libraries  in  school  districts.  An  act 
of  1849  provided  that  any  city  or  town  might  "raise 
money  for  the  purchase  of  libraries."     A  third  act,  of 

1 85 1,  was  more  liberal  in  that  it  permitted  any  city  or 
town  to  establish  and  maintain  a  public  library  with 
or  without  branches,  under  the  regulation  of  the  city 
or  town  authorities.  This  act  limited  the  appropria- 
tion for  library  purposes  to  $1  for  each  ratable  poll,  and 
the  annual  appropriation  for  library  purposes  to 
twenty-five  cents  for  each  ratable  poll. 

"The  public  library  of  the  City  of  Boston  was,  how- 
ever, the  first  large  city  library  to  be  established  as  a 
municipal  institution  upon  the  plan  identical  with  that 
of  the  public  libraries  of  today.  It  rests  upon  special 
legislation  which  antedated  the  general  laws,  and  its 
founders  exhibited  a  breadth  of  views  which  justly 
entitles  them  to  be  called  the  fathers  of  the  public 
library  movement." 

One  of  the  first  men  to  give  an  impetus  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  public  libraries  in  Boston  was  Nicholas 
Alexandre  Marie  Vattemare,  a  Frenchman,  who  had 
devoted  many  years  to  the  establishment  of  a  system 
of  literary  exchanges  among  European  libraries  and 
museums,  and  came  to  New  York  in  1839  to  prosecute 
his  mission  in  this  country.  "He  was  originally  a 
minor  actor  or  impersonator  with  much  talent  as  a 
ventriloquist,"  who  had  made  it  his  hobby  to 
establish  a  system  of  international  exchange  of  books. 
Apparently,   he  bore  his   own   expenses   and  had  no 


ii4  J822 — Boston  —  1922. 

thought  of  pecuniary  reward.  As  he  did  not  find 
great  public  institutions  to  receive  the  book  treasures 
he  wished  to  bring  into  the  country,  the  first  need  was 
to  agitate  for  the  establishment  of  such  institutions. 

M.  Vattemare  finally  came  to  Boston  in  1841;  two 
meetings  of  prominent  citizens  were  held  at  which  he 
explained  his  plans,  and  resulted  in  a  committee  being 
selected  to  consider  his  scheme.  "These  two  meetings 
embodied  the  first  public  expression  of  the  public 
library  movement  in  Boston."  Soon  after,  Vattemare 
sent  the  city  authorities  about  fifty  volumes  as  a  gift 
from  the  city  of  Paris.  Mayor  Quincy  made  a  suitable 
acknowledgment  of  the  gift,  and  later,  in  1849,  when 
Vattemare  had  made  another  donation  in  the  form  of 
an  important  statistical  publication,  the  City  Council 
appointed  a  committee  to  solicit  contributions  of 
literature  to  be  sent  to  the  city  of  Paris  as  a  return 
compliment. 

The  committee  which  had  been  appointed  to  con- 
sider Vattemare 's  proposal  recommended  the  establish- 
ment of  a  public  library;  but  it  took  time  to  obtain 
definite  action.  Mayor  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  in  his 
inaugural  address  of  1848,  suggested  that  the  General 
Court  be  applied  to  for  power  to  form  a  library;  and 
he  was  directed  to  do  so.  In  March  of  the  same  year 
the  General  Court  passed  an  enabling  act,  authorizing 
the  city  to  establish  and  maintain  a  public  library  for 
the  use  of  the  inhabitants,  but  with  the  proviso  "that 
no  appropriation  for  the  library  shall  exceed  the  sum 
of  $5,000  in  any  one  year."  This  was  the  first  statute 
ever  passed  authorizing  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  a  public  library  as  a  municipal  institution 
supported  by  taxation. 

Among  the  first  to  give  valuable  collections  of  lit- 
erary material  for  the  proposed  library  was  Edward 
Everett,  who  offered  to  present  it  his  valuable  collec- 
tion of  state  papers  and  other  works.  Another  bene- 
factor was  Robert  C.  Winthrop.  The  first  money 
received  by  the  library  as  a  gift  was  the  sum  of  $1,000 
out  of  a  fund  subscribed  as  a  testimonial  to  Mayor 
Bigelow  for  his  public  services.  The  City  Council 
subsequently  appropriated  $1,000  for  library  purposes. 


ALEXANDRE    VATTEMARE. 


THE    MASON    STREET    BUILDING. 
(Location    of    Library,    1854-1858.) 


The  Public  Library.  115 

On  January  1,  1852,  it  was  reported  to  the  Council  that 
"the  library  now  numbers  scarcely  less  than  4,000 
volumes." 

Mayor  Benjamin  Seaver  showed  no  less  interest  in 
the  public  library  than  his  immediate  predecessor,  and 
on  his  recommendation  a  board  of  trustees  was  created 
in  1852,  which  forthwith  took  the  necessary  steps  for 
making  the  library  available  to  the  public.  Among 
the  various  gifts  of  money  to  the  new  library,  the 
largest  one  was  $50,000  from  Joshua  Bates.  He 
stipulated  that  the  money  should  be  used  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books,  while  the  city  should  provide  the  build- 
ing and  take  care  of  the  expenses.  His  only  condition 
was  that  the  library  building  should  be  an  ornament 
to  the  city  and  contain  room  for  100  to  150  persons  to 
sit  at  reading  tables,  and  that  it  should  be  perfectly 
free  to  all.  Mr.  Bates  was  born  in  Weymouth,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  came  to  Boston  where 
he  entered  the  counting  house  of  William  R.  Gray. 
He  became  Mr.  Gray's  representative  in  London,  and 
later  was  admitted  to  the  house  of  Baring  Brothers, 
London,  ending  by  becoming  its  senior  member. 

The  public  was  generous  with  gifts  of  money  and 
books.  The  public  library  thus  founded  finally  ob- 
tained a  temporary  home  in  the  Mason  -Street  school- 
house,  where  two  rooms  were  assigned  it.  They  were 
soon  found  to  be  utterly  inadequate,  and  between 
1855  and  1857  the  first  library  building  was  erected 
on  Boylston  street  at  a  cost  of  $363,000. 

The  expenditures  for  ordinary  library  purposes  were 
at  first  between  $20,000  and  $30,000  a  year,  but  rose 
rapidly  in  the  early  seventies  owing  to  a  necessary  en- 
largement of  the  main  building  and  the  establishment 
of  branches  in  various  parts  of  the  city.  East  Boston 
was  the  first  to  benefit  by  a  branch  of  the  central  library 
(1870).  It  was  an  experimental  venture  but  so  suc- 
cessful that  in  the  next  two  years  South  Boston,  Rox- 
bury,  Charlestown  and  Brighton  received  their  own 
branches.  Beginning  with  1873  the  first  reading  room 
of  the  library,  known  as  Bates  Hall,  was  kept  open 
during  certain  hours  of  Sundays  (see  page  40). 

The  main  library  proved  inadequate  notwithstanding 


n6  1S22  —  Boston  —  1922. 

the  additions  that  had  been  made  to  it  which,  it  had 
been  hoped ,  would  afford  sufficient  space  for  a  long  time 
to  come.  Indeed,  in  1880,  Mayor  Prince  recommended 
the  construction  of  a  new  building  to  meet  the  con- 
stantly growing  needs  of  the  library,  so  popular  had  the 
institution  become.  At  his  instigation  a  site  in  the 
Back  Bay  was  obtained  from  the  State,  on  Boylston 
and  Dartmouth  streets,  but  the  condition  was  attached 
that  a  library  building  should  be  erected  on  it  within 
three  years.  The  same  act  also  demanded  that  all 
citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  should  have  the  right 
of  access  to  the  library  without  charge.  The  time  limit 
imposed  for  building  was  extended  three  years.  The 
site  selected  was  a  triangular  lot,  the  property  of  a 
private  individual,  although  it  had  been  supposed  to 
form  a  part  of  Copley  square,  and  cost  the  city  $200,000. 
Construction  was  not  begun  until  1886  on  account  of 
the  prevailing  industrial  depression. 

Originally  it  had  been  thought  that  a  building  cost- 
ing $800,000  would  be  sufficient  for  the  next  fifty  years; 
but  the  trustees  had  to  content  themselves  with  a  little 
more  than  half  of  the  amount  asked  for  and  this  could 
only  suffice  for  a  very  modest  structure.  The  whole 
project  for  the  new  library  building  was  held  up  for  a 
time ;  public  interest  was  greatly  aroused  and  demanded 
time  for  further  consideration.  At  last  an  agreement 
was  reached,  and  the  present  beautiful  library  build- 
ing was  brought  to  its  completion  in  1894.  The  cost 
of  the  edifice  ($2,450,000)  far  exceeded  the  original 
estimates,  but  no  one  now  questions  it,  for  it  is  without 
price.  Long  before  the  new  structure  was  taken  into 
use,  the  trustees  had  been  incorporated  and  were 
authorized  to  receive  gifts  and  donations  of  real  and 
personal  property. 

The  library  system  of  Boston  consists  at  present  of 
the  central  library  in  Copley  square;  sixteen  branch 
libraries  with  independent  collections  of  books;  and 
fourteen  reading  rooms,  all  of  which  contain  deposits 
of  books  from  the  central  library.  There  is  a  daily 
exchange  of  books  and  cards  between  the  library  and 
the  thirteen  stations,  so  that  persons  in  outlying  dis- 
tricts can  draw  books  from  the  central  library  without 


THE    BOYLSTON    STREET    BUILDING. 
(Location   of    Library,    1858-1895.) 


JOSHUA     BATES, 


The  Public  Library.  117 

appearing  there  in  person.  The  central  library  also 
supplies  191  public  and  parochial  schools,  37  institu- 
tions and  59  fire  company  houses.  More  than  100,000 
card  holders  have  the  right  to  obtain  books  for  home 
use.  The  total  number  of  volumes  is  about  1,200,000, 
besides  newspapers  and  periodicals  which  number  up- 
ward of  3,000.  In  Bates  Hall  (the  main  reading  room 
of  the  central  library),  about  10,000  volumes  are  kept 
on  open  shelves  for  reading  and  reference. 

There  is  also  a  room  set  aside  for  young  readers,  a 
teachers'  reference  room,  and.  special  facilities  in  con- 
nection with  university  extension  courses.  The  fine 
arts  department  affords  opportunity  for  copying  and 
photographing  and  contains  a  large  collection  of  photo- 
graphs of  architecture,  sculpture,  paintings,  etc.  Free 
lectures  are  given  during  the  winter  season,  mostly  on 
art  topics,  and  special  assistance  is  offered  to  classes, 
traveler  clubs,  etc.,  and  some  free  concerts  are  given. 

The  trustees  of  the  Public  Library,  five  in  number, 
are  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  one  each  year,  for  a  term 
of  five  years.  There  are  forty-one  library  trust  funds 
in  the  custody  of  the  City  Treasurer,  amounting  to  a 
total  of  $675,372  on  February  1,  1922,  the  annual  inter- 
est derived  being  used  for  the  purchase  of  books.  The 
expenditures  for  library  purposes  in  1921-22  were 
$734,892. 

Perhaps  of  all  the  public  libraries  in  the  country 
none  surpasses  the  Boston  Public  Library  in  adequate 
service  and  in  the  variety  of  its  collections.  No  build- 
ing in  Boston  exceeds  it  in  beauty  of  architecture; 
and  its  interior  has  become  known  to  the  world  through 
the  mural  paintings  and  decorations  by  Puvis  de 
Chavannes,  Sargent  and  Abbey. 

It  is  a  monument  to  intelligent  municipal  adminis- 
tration and  a  worthy  house  for  immortal  works  in  liter- 
ature, art  and  the  sciences. 


n8  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 


PUBLIC   GROUNDS,    PARKS   AND 
RECREATION. 

Boston  has  always  guarded  with  jealousy  the  pub- 
lic grounds  she  possesses.  The  first  charter  forbade 
the  municipal  council  from  selling  the  Common  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  voters.  The  low  lands  extend- 
ing to  tidewater  in  the  Back  Bay,  which  had  been  pur- 
chased from  the  owners  of  the  Ropewalk  in  1824,  at  a 
cost  of  $25,000,  were  also  kept  intact,  so  that  "a  bounti- 
ful supply  of  fresh  air  might  be  let  into  the  city." 
Beyond  the  Common,  the  Mall,  and  the  different 
burying  grounds,  Boston  had  no  public  grounds  re- 
quiring a  constant  outlay  until  the  administration  of 
Josiah  Quincy,  Jr./  1846-48.  The  expenditures  for 
their  upkeep  were  correspondingly  low,  except  for  the 
cost  of  surrounding  the  Common  with  an  iron  fence 
($90,000),  which  was  in  part  borne  by  private  sub- 
scription. 

Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  in  his  second  inaugural,  strongly 
advocated  the  need  of  public  parks.  The  first  large 
venture  under  him  was  the  purchase  of  Dorchester 
Heights  in  South  Boston  at  a  cost  of  $112,000.  The 
tract  was  to  be  used  both  as  a  park  and  as  a  site  for  a 
new  reservoir.  Beyond  this  the  city  government 
contented  itself  for  a  while  with  larger  expenditures  for 
beautifying  the  Common  and  the  city  squares  in  the 
old  residential  sections. 

With  the  improvement  of  the  Back  Bay  came  the 
first  opportunity  to  establish  a  modern  park  within  the 
city  limits.  Between  the  Boston  Common  and  the 
town  of  Brookline  lay  a  stretch  of  marsh  land  upward 
of  700  acres  in  extent  which  was  covered  by  water  at 
high  tide.  Already  in  18 14  the  so-called  Boston  and 
Roxbury  Mill  corporation  had  been  chartered  to  improve 
the  Back  Bay.  It  built  two  causeways,  one  to  the  west 
along  the  present  Beacon  street,  the  other  southward 
to   Roxbury   and  branching  off  from  the  first.     The 


EDWARD    EVERETT. 


Public  Grounds  and  Parks.  119 

Roxbury  causeway  divided  the  Back  Bay  into  two 
basins,  the  western  one  emptying  into  the  eastern 
which  was  the  "receiving"  basin,  so  that  tide  mills 
could  be  constructed  along  the  causeway.  A  second 
company  had  been  chartered  which,  in  1832,  acquired 
all  the  property  and  privileges  of  the  Boston-Roxbury 
Company  south  of  the  Beacon  street  causeway.  Bos- 
ton, wishing  to  drain  into  the  receiving  basin,  had 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  new  Water  Power 
Company  to  that  effect  and  had  ceded  it  100  acres  for 
the  privilege,  with  the  proviso  that  the  water  in  the 
basin  should  always  be  kept  below  a  level  needed  for 
working  the  tide  mills.  But  before  long,  milling  by 
tide  power  became  unprofitable;  the  Water  Power 
Company  neglected  to  keep  the  water  at  the  proper 
level;  and  the  receiving  basin  was  filled  with  sew- 
age, threatening  to  become  a  serious  menace  to  the 
public  health. 

The  only  remedy  was  to  fill  in  the  Back  Bay  marsh, 
and  as  land  was  rapidly  rising  in  value,  the  Water 
Power  company  wished  to  take  advantage  of  the  situa- 
tion. For  a  time  the  Commonwealth  blocked  the 
project.  Under  the  old  laws,  individuals  could  claim 
ownership  of  shore  land  stretching  to  the  low  tide  level 
to  the  extent  of  one  hundred  rods.  Any  land  uncov- 
ered beyond  that  distance  belonged  to  the  Common- 
wealth. It  therefore  laid  claims  to  the  Back  Bay 
lands  "below  the  ordinary  line  of  riparian  ownership," 
for  they  promised  to  be  of  great  value.  Moreover,  it 
was  held  that  the  ship  channels  might  be  injured  by 
reducing  the  flow  of  water  through  a  general  filling  in 
of  the  marshes.  The  negotiations  between  the  Com- 
monwealth and  the  Boston  Water  Power  Company 
resulted  in  the  two  becoming  partners  in  the  work  of 
reclaiming  the  Back  Bay,  the  latter  having  been  con- 
verted into  a  land  company  (1856). 

But  Boston  had  its  own  claims  to  press.  An  agree- 
ment was  reached  in  1856  by  the  three  parties  inter- 
ested whereby  the  Commonwealth  ceded  to  Boston  a 
piece  of  land  to  the  west  of  the  bottom  of  the  Common 
and  agreed  to  build  a  sewer  across  the  Back  Bay  into 
the   Charles  river.     The  Commonwealth  and  Boston 


120  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

were  to  share  the  cost  of  building  a  street  80  feet  wide, 
from  Beacon  to  Boylston  streets,  the  present  Arlington 
street.  A  later  act  prescribed  that  no  buildings  should 
be  "erected  between  Arlington  and  Charles  streets, 
except  such  as  are  expedient  for  horticultural  purposes ; 
provided,  that  nothing  herein  shall  render  it  unlawful 
to  erect  a  city  hall  on  the  Public  Garden."  Thus 
Boston  came  into  possession  of  its  cherished  Public 
Garden. 

The  construction  of  the  Public  Garden,  the  embel- 
lishment of  a  number  of  small  squares  in  the  city,  and 
the  improvement  of  the  driveway  around  the  Chestnut 
Hill  Reservoir,  did  not  satisfy  the  increasing  hunger  for 
additional  parks,  although  the  per  capita  cost  on  this 
account  had  more  than  doubled  and  constituted  1.3 
per  cent  of  the  total  city  expenditures.  A  number  of 
leading  taxpayers  petitioned  the  City  Council  to  reserve 
a  large  area  for  park  purposes  (1869).  The  sub-com- 
mittee appointed  to  hold  hearings  reported  that  it  had 
become  evident  that  the  people  wanted  ' '  a  large  park 
or  several  small  parks  in  Boston  or  the  immediate 
vicinity."  On  petition  to  the  General  Court,  it  author- 
ized the  purchase  of  the  necessary  lands. 

Unfortunately,  the  act  did  not  permit  Boston  to 
manage  its  own  affairs,  for  it  provided  for  a  Board  of 
Park  Commissioners,  four  to  be  appointed  by  the 
Governor  and  four  by  the  City  Council,  who,  together 
with  the  Mayor,  should  have  power  to  take  lands  for 
parks  at  pleasure,  but  might  not  expend  more  than 
$50,000  annually  for  the  purpose  of  their  care  and  im- 
provement. Payment  for  land  taken  might  be  made 
by  issuing  bonds  and  assessing  real  estate  for  the  benefit 
accruing  to  it.  The  act,  which  required  two  thirds 
of  the  legal  vote  of  the  city  for  its  acceptance,  was  re- 
jected because  of  its  several  objectionable  features;  but 
that  it  did  receive  more  than  a  majority  of  the  votes 
cast  showed  how  strong  the  desire  for  a  larger  park 
system  had  become. 

The  next  phase  of  the  movement  for  a  park  system 
came  in  1874,  when,  on  the  initiative  of  Mayor  Cobb, 
a  commission  was  appointed  to  consider  the  establish- 
ment of  a  park  system ;  it  consisted  of  the  Mayor,  two 


Public  Grounds  and  Parks.  121 

Aldermen,  three  members  of  the  City  Council  and  three 
citizens  at  large.  The  commission  made  several  recom- 
mendations without  definite  results;  and,  in  his  inau- 
gural of  1875,  Mayor  Cobb  once  more  urged  the  pur- 
chase of  land  suitable  for  parks,  believing  that  the 
period  of  depression  gave  an  opportunity  to  buy 
cheaply.  Again  the  General  Court  was  petitioned  for 
authority  to  create  a  park  system,  and  an  act  was 
passed  and  adopted  by  the  voters  (1875)  giving  the 
Mayor  authority  to  appoint  three  park  commissioners, 
with  the  approval  of  the  City  Council,  to  serve  without 
pay  for  three-year  terms.  They  could  not  incur  ex- 
penditures without  previous  consent  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil. For  the  rest,  the  Park  Commission  was  given 
broad  powers  in  purchasing  land  and  levying  assess- 
ments on  the  real  estate  benefited. 

The  commission,  in  a  report  made  in  1876,  advo- 
cated the  expenditure  of  $5,000,000  for  land.  Land 
was  cheap,  labor  was  cheap,  and  the  improvements 
called  for  would  give  work  to  the  unemployed.  This 
was  the  pith  of  its  arguments;  but  the  plans  of  the 
commission  were  too  large  and  elaborate  to  pass  with- 
out a  challenge;  and  when  the  project  of  the  commis- 
sion had  been  considered  by  a  joint  special  committee 
of  the  city  government,  it  was  rejected,  although  a 
small  sum  was  appropriated  for  immediate  use.  Mayor 
Cobb,  in  his  valedictory  at  the  end  of  1876,  once  more 
insisted  that  land  for  parks  should  be  bought  imme- 
diately, following  his  earlier  line  of  reasoning.  In  his 
belief,  a  postponement  till  more  prosperous  times 
might  mean  the  loss  of  a  park  system. 

In  May  of  1877,  the  Park  Commission  was  granted 
an  appropriation  of  $1,000,000  for  the  purchase  of  lands 
and  received  authorization  to  take  certain  lowlands 
in  the  Back  Bay  that  had  served  as  a  receptacle  for  the 
sewage  from  Muddy  River  and  Stony  Brook,  enabling 
them  to  make  a  park  and  abolish  an  unsanitary  nui- 
sance. Accordingly,  the  commission  bought  106  acres 
at  a  cost  of  about  $460,000.  The  next  proposal,  made 
in  1879,  was  to  buy  certain  lands  in  West  Roxbury ;  but 
the  City  Council  feared  to  increase  expenditures. 
Mayor  Prince  favored  the  plan.     The  objectors  had 


122  1S22 — Boston — 1922. 

urged  that  it  was  merely  a  scheme  on  the  part  of  land 
owners  in  West  Roxbury  who  wished  to  sell  their  prop- 
erty at  an  exorbitant  price.  The  Mayor  reported  that 
in  this  case  the  land  might  be  taken  under  the  special 
powers  granted  the  commission  under  the  park  act. 
The  West  Roxbury  Park  was  not  authorized  until  1883 
when  it  was  opened  to  the  public  unimproved.  Later 
it  was  given  the  name  of  Franklin  Park. 

The  subsequent  development  of  the  park  system  pro- 
ceeded rapidly  so  far  as  taking  land  was  concerned.  An 
extension  of  the  parkway  to  Jamaica  Pond  through  the 
Muddy  River  valley  was  authorized  in  188 1  and  $200,000 
appropriated  for  the  purpose.  The  Arnold  Arboretum 
and  other  lands  were  taken  in  1882.  Harvard  Univer- 
sity had  owned  the  Arboretum,  and  under  the  new 
arrangement  it  was  leased  to  the  University  on  condi- 
tion that  it  care  for  the  planting  and  upkeep  of  the 
grounds,  the  city  taking  care  of  the  roads  and  policing. 
In  the  same  year,  Wood  Island  Park  in  East  Boston  was 
purchased  for  $50,000.  In  1883,  the  flats  between 
West  Boston  Bridge  and  Craigie  Bridge  were  taken  for 
sanitary  and  park  objects,  the  idea  being  to  build  an 
embankment  and  fill  in  the  inclosed  land.  In  the  same 
year  the  flats  at  City  Point,  South  Boston,  were  ob- 
tained for  conversion  into  what  is  now  Marine  Park. 

So  far  the  land  taken  for  parks  had  cost  about 
$2,000,000.  The  funds  were  obtained  through  thirty- 
year  loans  authorized  under  the  original  park  act. 
The  next  question  was  to  make  the  land  into  parks. 
More  than  a  million  dollars  was  spent  in  developing 
and  improving  the  Back  Bay  Park.  This  sum  was 
derived  from  taxation.  The  taking  by  the  city  of  these 
lowlands  for  park  purposes  was  not  only  a  useful  sani- 
tary measure,  but  the  example  set  by  the  city  soon  led 
private  owners  to  fill  in  the  lowlands  owned  by  them 
at  a  great  gain  of  valuable  property.  The  policy  of 
developing  the  park  system  necessarily  caused  vexa- 
tious delays;  the  expedient  of  borrowing  money  for  the 
purchase  and  improvement  of  park  lands  was  adopted. 
In  1886  the  General  Court  gave  permission  to  contract 
loans  for  five  years  outside  the  debt  limit,  not  exceed- 
ing $500,000  annually,  to  run  for  fifty  years. 


Public  Grounds  and  Parks.  123 

The  Common  and  other  public  grounds  remained  in 
charge  of  a  separate  city  department,  but  the  commis- 
sion, established  in  1875,  continued  the  great  work  of 
developing  the  park  system,  improving  the  lands  al- 
ready purchased,  and  adding  to  them.  Loans  to  the 
amount  of  a  million  dollars  for  purchase  of  lands  were 
authorized  in  1888,  and  for  park  lands  in  Chariest  own 
a  loan  of  $200,000  was  granted  in  1890. 

These  loans  were  outside  the  debt  limit,  and  it  was 
owing  to  the  ease  with  which  legislative  permission  for 
such  loans  was  obtained  that  the  development  of  the 
park  system  could  proceed  at  a  rapid  pace.  Thus,  in 
1 89 1,  $3,500,000  were  borrowed  outside  the  debt  limit 
in  instalments  of  $700,000  a  year  for  the  extension  and 
improvement  of  parks.  But  even  this  annual  sum  was 
not  found  sufficient  to  carry  out  the  elaborate  plans 
already  formulated;  and  in  1893  the  restriction  where- 
by loans  could  not  be  contracted  for  more  than  $700,000 
a  year  was  abolished. 

The  expectation  that  the  above  mentioned  loan 
would  suffice  to  complete  the  park  system  as  originally 
planned  did  not  materialize.  The  land  taken  had  cost 
more  than  anticipated,  and  an  additional  loan  of 
$1,000,000  was  authorized  in  1894.  Meanwhile,  the 
Fenway,  Jamaica  Park,  the  Arboretum  and  the  con- 
necting driveways  had  been  completed  and  opened 
to  the  public.  For  some  time  the  heavy  drains  on 
the  city  treasury  on  account  of  loans  had  created 
uneasiness.  Mayor  Matthews,  in  his  valedictory  ad- 
dress of  1894,  went  on  record  as  opposed  to  any  future 
loans  for  park  purposes  outside  of  the  debt  limit. 
Mayor  Curtis  expressed  himself  to  the  same  effect, 
advising  that  no  more  land  be  purchased.  That  sub- 
sequently loans  were  issued  outside  the  debt  limit  was 
in  large  part  due  to  the  demands  upon  the  city  for  the 
payment  of  its  share  of  the  cost  of  the  Metropolitan 
parks,  to  be  referred  to  below.  Much  work  had  been 
done  to  beautify  the  land  laid  out  for  parks  and  in 
planting  trees  and  shrubs,  all  of  which  added  greatly 
to  the  cost.  In  the  meantime  a  new  development  had 
taken  place  through  the  establishment  of  public  play- 
grounds, both  within  and  outside  of  the  park  system. 


124  I822  —  Boston — 1922. 

Por  sonic  time  it  had  been  recognized  that  the  parks 
were  too  distant  to  serve  the  children  in  many  of  the 
crowded  sections  of  the  city.  From  1891  on,  a  few 
playgrounds  had  been  taken  into  use,  but  when  Mayor 
Quincy  came  into  office  in  1896,  a  definite  policy  in 
regard  to  this  new  venture  for  the  public  good  was 
adopted.  He  wished  every  ward  to  have  a  playground 
and  called  attention  to  what  other  cities  had  done  to 
provide  space  in  which  children  could  play  under 
decent  conditions.  The  project  found  immediate  favor ; 
the  Park  Commissioner  approved  it;  and  the  requisite 
legislation  was  obtained  in  1898  under  which  the  Park 
Commissioners  were  authorized  "for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  a  comprehensive  system  of  playgrounds 
.  .  .  to  purchase,  with  the  approval  of  the  Mayor 
of  said  city,  land  for  playgrounds  in  such  different 
locations  not  exceeding  twenty  in  number,  as  they  may 
be  best  adapted  for  such  purposes."  A  loan  of 
$500,000  to  carry  out  the  plan  was  authorized  at  the 
same  time,  but  not  more  than  $200,000  could  be  spent 
in  one  year.  Since  then,  the  number  of  separate  play- 
grounds has  risen  to  43,  with  a  total  of  324  acres, 
while  there  are  13  playgrounds  in  the  parks  themselves. 

The  cost  of  Boston's  own  parks  began  to  decline 
after  1897,  but  from  now  on  the  expenditure  on  account 
of  the  Metropolitan  park  system  grew.  Under  an  Act 
of  1893,  a  district  containing  thirty-seven  cities  and 
towns  was  established  as  the  Metropolitan  Park  Dis- 
trict. The  purpose  was  the  gradual  construction  of 
parks  and  parkways,  all  to  be  connected  so  far  as 
possible  and  to  form  one  complete  system.  The  huge 
undertaking  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  commission  of 
five  persons,  appointed  by  the  Governor  for  terms  of 
five  years.  The  funds  needed  were  to  be  provided  by 
the  Commonwealth  through  loans;  but  the  cost  of 
maintenance,  as  well  as  requirements  for  interest  and 
sinking  funds  were  to  be  paid  by  the  cities  and  towns 
within  the  Metropolitan  district. 

It  is  not  in  place  to  discuss  fully  the  development  of 
the  ambitious  plans  for  the  Metropolitan  parks.  The 
larger  part  of  the  area  included  in  the  Metropolitan 
park   system   lies   outside   of   Boston,   arid   the   city's 


Public  Grounds  and  Parks.  125 

responsibility  for  it  is  purely  financial.  There  are, 
however,  within  the  city  limits  950  acres  of  Metropol- 
itan parks  and  parkways.  Perhaps  the  most  notable 
is  the  Stony  Brook  Reservation  in  West  Roxbury 
which  contains  over  400  acres  of  "wild  forested  land 
and  dale  with  many  rocky  knolls  and  an  extensive  view 
of  the  Charles  river  valley  and  beyond." 

Another  Metropolitan  undertaking  of  more  direct 
importance  to  the  city,  and  involving  a  great  piece  of 
engineering,  was  the  construction  of  the  Charles  River 
Basin  with  its  embankment  and  park  on  the  Boston 
side.  Legislative  authority  had  been  obtained  for 
building  a  dam  across  the  Charles  River,  to  include 
the  construction  of  a  new  bridge  between  Boston  and 
Cambridge  for  the  damways  and  to  serve  as  a  highway. 
The  dam  keeps  the  water  level  constant  and  thus 
creates  a  sizeable  lake  between  Cambridge  and  Boston. 
The  mudflats  which  formerly  offended  the  eye  at  low 
tide  have  disappeared  under  a  sheet  of  water  affording 
every  opportunity  for  sports  and  capable  of  infinite 
development  as  a  place  of  recreation  and  beauty. 

Since  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission  came  into 
being,  more  than  one-half  of  the  expenditures  for  parks 
has  been  on  account  of  the  Metropolitan  outlay  over 
which  the  city  has  no  control.  Here  is  another  example 
of  the  substitution  of  state  for  municipal  administration, 
but  in  this  instance  it  will  probably  be  conceded  that 
it  has  been  for  the  common  good. 

Boston  has  today  twenty-four  large  parks  aside  from 
the  many  public  grounds,  squares,  etc.,  the  area  of 
which  is  measured  in  square  feet  rather  than  in  acres. 
The  total  park  area  belonging  to  Boston  covers  2,685 
acres. 

The  main  park  system,  so-called,  contains  the  Boston 
Common,  the  Public  Garden,  the  Fens,  the  Arnold 
Arboretum  and  Bussey  Park,  and  Franklin  Park, 
besides  some  of  smaller  dimensions  and  the  connecting 
parkways.  Aside  from  the  Common  and  Public 
Garden,  the  principal  parks  of  the  main  system  are  the 
Arnold  Arboretum  and  Bussey  Park  with  their  wonder- 
ful collection  of  flowering  shrubs  and  trees  collected 
from  all  parts  of  the  globe,  and  Franklin  Park  of  527 


126  iS22- — Boston — 1922. 

acres,  containing  a  zoological  garden,  golf  course, 
many  miles  of  beautiful  walks  —  a  playground  of  rare 
beauty  and  utility  because  of  its  accessibility  from  all 
parts  of  the  city. 

The  Marine  Park  system  is  of  later  development, 
but  it  is  a  fine  example  of  the  utilization  of  waterfronts 
for  common  recreation.  The  Marine  Park  was  the 
first  to  be  opened  and  to  it  was  added  an  aquarium  in 
19 1 2.  Castle  Island,  with  its  104  acres,  was  made  a 
part  of  the  system  some  years  later. 

The  crowning  feature  of  the  Marine  Park  system  has 
been  the  construction  of  the  Strandway.  The  project 
had  been  under  consideration  as  early  as  1890,  but 
nothing  was  done  until  19 13  when  a  joint  commission 
was  authorized  by  the  General  Court  to  make  the  nec- 
essary studies  and  report  plans  for  betterments.  In 
1 91 6,  the  City  of  Boston  was  authorized  to  improve  the 
shore  flats  and  channels  of  the  part  of  Dorchester  Bay 
known  as  Old  Harbor,  an  appropriation  of  $599,000 
being  granted  for  the  undertaking.  The  whole  area  to 
be  improved  was  in  a  deplorable  condition,  the  sewage 
from  South  Boston  and  Dorchester  emptying  on  the 
flats  constituting  a  menace  to  health  at  all  times  and 
especially  in  summer.  Furthermore,  the  shores  of 
Old  Harbor  had  been  used  as  a  general  dumping 
ground. 

The  purpose  of  the  Strandway  project  was  to  re- 
move the  sewage  nuisance;  to  provide  bathing  facil- 
ities ;  to  make  the  basin  suitable  for  yachting  purposes ; 
to  create  an  athletic  field,  and  to  make  a  park  on  the 
reclaimed  area. 

This  most  ambitious  plan  is  not  fully  completed,  but 
the  work  done  has  more  than  justified  the  hopes  of  its 
sponsors.  The  large  portion  already  finished  shows 
that  the  original  objects  will  be  realized,  and  that  the 
city  is  adding  to  its  park  system  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful, wholesome  and  useful  parkways  in  the  entire 
city.  Aside  from  this,  the  great  value  of  the  265  acres 
of  reclaimed  land  is  a  feature  rarely  combined  with  park 
undertakings. 

Among  the  miscellaneous  parks  deserving  special 
mention  are  Governor's  Island,  about  one  mile  north  of 


Public  Grounds  and  Parks.  127 

City  Point,  owned  by  the  United  States,  but  used  as  a 
park  under  authority  of  Congress,  and  Wood  Island 
Park,  East  Boston,  containing  a  total  of  211  acres. 

The  total  cost  of  the  park  system  of  Boston  to  1920- 
21  has  been  $23,314,765.  The  cost  of  maintaining  it 
during  1920-21  was  $1,286,046.  The  great  bequest 
in  1908  by  George  F.  Parkman,  valued  at  between 
$5,000,000  and  $6,000,000,  the  income  of  which  is 
used  for  the  maintenance  and  improvements  of  the 
older  parks,  offsets  the  annual  outlay. 

The  will  of  Mr.  Parkman  provides  that  the  income 
from  his  bequest  be  expended  for  the  maintenance  and 
improvement  of  the  Common  and  such  parks  as  were 
in  existence  January  12,  1887,  and  that  no  part  of  it 
is  to  be  used  for  the  purchase  of  additional  land  for 
park  purposes.  The  bequest  was  accepted  by  the  City 
Council  in  1909,  since  which  time  most  of  the  realty 
has  been  sold  and  the  proceeds  invested.  On  February 
1,  1 92 1,  the  principal  of  the  fund  in  the  custody  of  the 
City  Treasurer  amounted  to  $5,377,877.  The  interest 
from  the  fund  during  the  fiscal  year  1920-21  was 
$194,690. 

The  total  valuation  of  city  properties  dedicated  to 
recreation  is  more  than  $69,000,000,  which  is  far  in 
excess  of  that  of  any  other  city  except  New  York. 

A  natural  sequence  of  the  extension  of  the  park  sys- 
tem along  the  waterfront  was  the  development  of 
bathing  facilities.  The  first  of  all  public  baths  was  the 
L  Street  seaside  bath  in  South  Boston,  opened  in  1866, 
and,  so  far  as  known,  the  first  municipal  bath  estab- 
lishment in  the  country.  At  the  present  time,  the  city 
maintains  9  beach  baths, — ■  3  in  South  Boston,  2  in 
Dorchester,  1  in  the  North  End,  1  in  East  Boston, 
1  in  Charlestown  and  1  in  Neponset.  In  addition, 
there  are  7  so-called  floating  baths  for  men  and 
women. 

The  policy  of  establishing  bath  houses  open  all  the 
year  began  in  1898  with  the  erection  of  the  Dover  Street 
bath  house.  This  was  followed  in  1905  by  the  Cabot 
Street  bath  house  in  Roxbury,  another  in  Charlestown, 
and,  finally,  the  North  Bennet  Street  bath  house,  in 
the  North  End.     These  four  "main  bath  houses,"  with 


128  1S22 — -Boston — 1922. 

the  exception  of  the  one  on  Dover  street,  contain  gym- 
nasia and  one  of  them  a  swimming  pool,  in  addition 
to  other  conveniences. 

The  latest  phase  in  the  development  of  public  recrea- 
tion has  been  to  establish  baths  and  gymnasia  in  certain 
municipal  buildings,  which  are  used  also  for  other  pur- 
poses. Thus,  6  municipal  buildings,  some  of  them 
recently  erected,  contain  shower  baths  and  swimming 
pools,  while  others  have  gymnasia  connected  with  them, 
and  2  buildings  are  used  exclusively  as  gymnasia.  One 
of  the  latter,  at  East  Boston  and  recently  erected,  stands 
on  the  site  of  the  first  in-door  municipial  gymnasium 
in  the  United  States;  it  was  opened  to  the  public  in 
1897.  Some  of  the  municipal  buildings  utilized  for 
baths  and  gymnasia  also  contain  branches  of  the  public 
library,  ward  rooms,  etc. 

No  other  city  in  the  United  States  has  shown  greater 
generosity  than  Boston  in  providing  such  utilities  for 
the  public  through  parks,  public  baths  and  gym- 
nasia; it  has  been  a  pioneer  in  this  branch  of  municipal 
activities. 

The  public  baths  and  gymnasia  are  under  the  direct 
control  of  the  Park  Department,  although  the  Depart- 
ment of  Public  Buildings  has  control  of  municipal 
buildings  in  which  baths  and  gymnasia  are  located. 


EAST    BOSTON    GYMNASIUM    AND     BATH. 


Public  Lands.  129 


PUBLIC   LANDS. 


/Originally  Boston  contained  about  780  acres  of  land, 
an  area  far  too  restricted  to  provide  homes  even  for  a 
town  much  smaller  than  Boston  was  at  the  time  of  the 
adoption  of  the  first  city  charter.  It  had  become 
expedient,  therefore,  to  increase  the  area  by  filling  in 
parts  of  the  harbor.  In  1822,  the  so-called  common 
lands  of  Boston  consisted  chiefly  of  the  "Neck,"  a 
stretch  of  marsh  connecting  Boston  with  Roxbury.  By 
extensive  filling  and  grading  this  land  was  eventually 
made  fit  for  sale.  Under  Mayor  Otis,  the  lands  adja- 
cent to  the  "Neck"  were  surveyed  and  made  ready  for 
sale,  and  the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Public  Lands 
was  established,  under  the  direction  of  a  committee  of 
the  City  Council.  For  about  twenty  years  after  Boston 
became  a  city,  the  average  income  from  the  sale  of 
public  lands  was  about  $40,000  a  year. 

Hitherto,  the  city  had  been  in  the  habit  of  selling  its 
lands  practically  unimproved,  but  was  obliged  to  grade 
them  afterwards  at  public  expense..  Mayor  Josiah 
Quincy,  Jr.,  insisted  that  all  lands  should  be  placed  on 
the  market  in  a  finished  condition  (1847). 

To  meet  the  increasing  demand  for  lands  on  the 
"Neck,"  the  City  Council  had  purchased  some  237,000 
feet  bordering  on  the  South  Bay,  as  it  was  called. 
There  a  sea  wall  was  built  and  a  contract  made  for 
filling  in  the  marsh.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
over  the  sea  wall  due  to  faulty  construction,  so  that 
expenditures  greatly  exceeded  the  original  estimates 
and  finally  amounted  to  more  than  a  million  dollars. 
This  transaction  proved  a  distinct  loss  to  the  city,  for 
it  entailed  a  heavy  cost  to  grade  the  lands  and  lay  out 
streets,  especially  because  it  was  required  that  all 
streets  should  be  raised  to  a  grade  of  not  less  than  15 
feet  above  low  water  mark. 

The  General  Court  and  the  city  were  far  from  being 
in  accord  in  regard  to  taking  over  and  improving  public 


130  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

lands.  The  city  had  sought  in  vain  to  obtain  title  to 
the  flats  belonging  to  the  Commonwealth,  between 
South  Boston  and  the  harbor.  The  land  commissioners 
thought  that  the  policy  involved  would  result  in  the 
loss  of  land  necessary  to  protect  the  harbor,  and  there 
were  other  points  of  disagreement. 

When  the  South  Bay  betterments  had  been  com- 
pleted, the  improvement  of  city  land  for  sale  practically 
came  to  an  end.  The  next  undertaking  was  raising 
the  low  level  of  the  territory  adjacent  to  the  Back  Bay. 
This  had  become  necessary  in  order  to  obtain  proper 
drainage.  The  real  estate  owners  in  the  district 
claimed  that  the  city  should  bear  the  entire  cost  of  the 
improvement,  and  Mayor  Norcross  in  1867  advised 
the  City  Council  to  assume  "a  reasonable, —  perhaps 
liberal  proportion  of  the  cost."  The  Legislature  was 
accordingly  petitioned  to  give  the  city  authority  to 
raise  the  Church  Street  district,  the  cost  to  be  assessed 
upon  the  estates  adjoining.  This  was  granted.  The 
city  took  possession  of  the  land  in  question;  placed 
the  task  of  raising  it  to  proper  grade  in  the  hands  of 
certain  commissioners;  and  the  work  was  completed 
in  1869  so  successfully  that  13  acres  of  land  were  raised, 
and  the  value  of  surrounding  real  estate  increased  from 
50  to  100  per  cent.  The  new  grade  was  18  feet  above 
the  water,  for  streets  and  ways,  and  12  feet  above 
cellars,  yards  and  vacant  lots,  so  that  proper  drainage 
was  secured.  The  net  cost  of  this  improvement 
was  about  $900,000.  It  has  been  stated  authori- 
tatively that  while  the  work  was  in  progress,  the  inhabi- 
tants who  continued  to  live  in  their  homes  were  in  many 
cases  "compelled  for  months  to  reach  their  tenements 
over  ladders,  in  some  instances  to  a  height  of  17  feet." 
Part  of  the  improved  land  was  sold  and  part  recon- 
veyed  to  the  former  owners. 

Under  the  authority  of  the  same  act  (1867),  similar 
improvements  were  made  further  to  the  southward,  in 
what  was  known  as  the  Suffolk  Street  district,  and  at 
an  expenditure  of  $1,600,000  or  $750,000  less  than  the 
original  estimate.  The  city  thereby  obtained  31  acres 
of  properly  drained  territory.     This  piece  of  work  was 


Public  Lands.  131 

begun  in  1870  and  completed  in  1872.  The  success  of 
the  venture  was  immediate,  for  the  real  estate  values 
rose  in  that  section  about  124  per  cent. 

The  improvements  hitherto  made  had  been  so 
valuable  in  increasing  the  valuation  of  property  and 
bettering  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  citizens,  that 
the  city  continued  them  toward  Roxbury,  in  the 
district  between  Northampton  and  Eustis  streets. 
This  was  done  under  a  new  act  of  legislature,  in  1873, 
obliging  owners  of  real  estate  to  raise  the  land  to  a 
grade  of  12  feet  above  the  average  low  water.  In 
case  of  refusal  within  a  stated  time,  the  city  had 
authority  to  perform  the  work  and  to  assess  the  cost 
upon  the  owners  of  the  improved  property.  The 
city  already  owned  200  acres  of  Back  Bay  land  laid  out 
in  streets  and  provided  with  sewers.  Under  Mayor 
Wightman  the  streets  and  alleys  were  paved  and  their 
maintenance  became  a  charge  upon  the  city.  This 
gave  the  city  an  additional  large  area  of  taxable  pro- 
perty without  great  expense.  How  valuable  this 
particular  section  of  the  city  has  since  become  is  a 
matter  of  general  knowledge. 

Now  the  outlay  for  public  lands  nearly  came  to  an 
end.  There  remained  only  one  considerable  project 
—  that  of  filling  the  Old  Roxbury  Canal.  This  was 
done  primarily  to  remove  a  nuisance,  although  it  was 
hoped  to  gain  enough  land  to  recover  the  cost  of  the 
improvement.  The  Roxbury  Canal,  50  feet  in  width, 
had  been  built  in  1795  in  order  to  save  a  land  carriage 
of  about  two  and  one  half  miles.  It  reached  from  South 
Bay  to  Eustis  street.  By  the  middle  of  the  seventies  the 
canal  served  chiefly  for  the  reception  of  sewage  and 
had  become  such  a  nuisance  that  the  Board  of  Health 
insisted  upon  steps  being  taken  to  fill  it  up.  The 
work  was  done  between  1878  and  1880,  at  a  net  cost 
to  the  city  of  $274,000.  The  undertaking  was  kept 
within  the  original  estimate,  but  the  returns  brought 
by  the  sale  of  new  land  were  disappointingly  small. 

After  1880,  the  land  held  by  the  city  had  so  far 
shrunk  as  to  make  the  office  of  Superintendent  of 
Public  Lands  superfluous;    and  the  remaining  bits  of 


132  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

public  lands  were  given  into  the  custody  of  the 
Street  Commissioners. 

As  a  dealer  in  real  estate,  the  city  of  Boston  was  at 
first  quite  successful;  during  the  first  twenty  odd 
years  of  its  existence  as  a  municipality,  the  sales  of 
property  gave  it  an  average  income  of  almost 
$40,000  a  year  net.  In  1845  no  less  than  $401,667  was 
brought  into  the  city  treasury  by  the  sale  of  land.  The 
following  year  was  also  one  of  very  heavy  land  transac- 
tions. The  policy  had  been  followed  of  improving 
public  lands  on  a  large  scale  and  making  the  purchasers 
pay  an  additional  price  on  account  of  the  improve- 
ments which  the  city  formerly  had  made  at  its  own 
expense  after  selling  the  land.  But  those  who  expected 
that  income  from  this  source  would  suffice  to  pay  off 
the  city  debt  were  disappointed.  Mayor  Josiah  Quincy, 
Jr.,  was  among  them.  Thereupon  a  new  policy  was 
adopted  which  had  the  desired  effect  of  increasing  land 
sales.  After  all,  a  greater  question  than  enlarged  re- 
ceipts was  to  provide  land  on  which  people  could  build 
homes,  and  thereby  increase  the  assessable  property 
of  the  city.  Mayor  Quincy  himself  favored  selling 
lands  "at  reasonable  prices  to  all  who  desired  to  build." 
In  other  words,  the  policy  of  selling  for  revenue  was 
replaced  by  that  of  disposing  of  land  in  order  to  build 
up  the  city.  The  succeeding  Mayor,  Bigelow,  also 
favored  reducing  the  price  of  land  and  thus  "induc- 
ing citizens  to  settle  within  the  limits  of  Boston  and 
add  to  the  taxable  property."  Still  more  liberal  terms 
to  purchasers  were  offered  in  1852  by  a  committee 
which  had  been  appointed  to  consider  how  the  demand 
for  city  lands  could  be  stimulated. 

This  committee,  in  its  report,  made  a  statement  which 
has  its  application  even  at  the  present  time.  It  fol- 
lows: "While  our  foreign  population  is  rapidly  aug- 
menting, our  native  population  is  in  greater  ratio 
diminishing.  Many  streets  formerly  occupied  by  some 
of  our  wealthiest  and  most  respectable  citizens  are  now 
wholly  surrendered  to  foreigners  in  the  older  parts  of 
the  city,  rents  are  exorbitant  and  it  is  with  extreme 
difficulty  that  a  comfortable  tenement  can  be  obtained. 
Many  citizens  have  erected  houses  in  the  neighboring 


Public  Lands.  133 

cities  and  villages,  and  increasing  the  taxable  property 
in  these  places  from  the  profits  of  business  transacted 
within  our  limits." 

Indeed,  suburban  life  had  begun  to  attract  many 
citizens  a  decade  earlier;  and  by  1850  the  improved 
means  of  transportation,  mainly  omnibuses  and  special 
trains  which  offered  a  cheap  annual  rate  to  commu- 
ters, caused  an  exodus  to  Roxbury,  Cambridge,  Chelsea 
and  Dorchester,  as  can  easily  be  determined  from  the 
rapid  growth  of  the  population  of  these  places  year  by 
year.  There  were  supposed  to  be  more  than  3,000 
persons  having  a  place  of  business  in  Boston  who  lived 
in  surrounding  towns.  So  far  as  the  sale  of  land  might 
serve  as  an  inducement  to  citizens  to  remain  in  Boston, 
it  did  not  help  to  check  the  movement  of  the  popu- 
lation to  the  suburbs.  The  sale  of  lands  continued  to 
be  disappointing.  It  did  not  mend  conditions  that  a 
Board  of  Land  Commissioners  was  placed  in  charge, 
for  although  the  sales  of  land  increased  somewhat,  it 
was  recommended  in  1854  that  land  be  sold  to  builders 
at  still  lower  prices,  without  any  payment  in  cash  and 
on  a  long  credit. 

Mayor  Smith  held  that  the  public  lands  had  been 
rated  above  their  true  marketable  value  and  expressed 
himself  thus  in  his  second  inaugural  (1855):  "Gentle- 
men of  sound  judgment  long  since  advanced  an  opinion 
that,  had  the  improved  lands  of  the  'Neck'  been  given 
away  twenty  years  ago  to  persons  obliged  to  build,  the 
city  would  have  gained  incalculably  by  the  scheme." 

Then  began  the  policy  of  auctioning  off  land  regard- 
less of  price,  and  the  sales  increased  accordingly.  It 
was  required,  however,  that  purchasers  should  build 
within  a  short  time.  The  wisdom  of  the  policy  may  be 
seen  from  the  fact  that  in  1855  no  less  than  350  build- 
ings were  erected  on  land  sold  by  the  city.  From  i860 
to  1873  not  far  from  two  million  dollars  had  been 
received  from  the  sale  of  public  lands. 

According  to  Mayor  Matthews,  in  his  valedictory 
address  of  1894,  the  city  had  received  a  net  profit  of 
$3,026,000  from  the  sales  of  land  disposed  of  for  a 
direct  fiscal  purpose.  The  other  policy,  which  con- 
sisted of  selling  improved  land  properly  graded  and 


134  XS22  —  Boston — 1922. 

provided  with  sewers,  etc.,  cost  the  city  $4,037,000. 
On  the  whole,  the  land  ventures  of  the  city  may  be  said 
to  have  been  successful  for,  beside  the  revenue,  it 
made  it  possible  for  citizens  to  build  homes  at  reason- 
able prices  and  thereby  in  the  end  adding  vastly  to 
the  taxable  property  of  the  city. 

It  should  be  noted  that  by  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
ties Boston  had  really  sold  nearly  all  of  its  public  land. 
Necessarily  the  administrations  since  that  time  have 
been  obliged  to  purchase  land  for  street  and  other 
improvements.  But  subsequently  the  sales  of  city 
property  have  been  a  small  factor  in  the  total  city  re- 
ceipts, for  what  there  was  on  hand  to  sell  consisted 
mostly  of  property  no  longer  Usable  for  public  purposes, 
but  of  value  as  business  was  extended  into  different 
sections  of  the  city. 


Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions.  135 


CHARITABLE   AND   CORRECTIONAL 
INSTITUTIONS. 


■Boston  has  always  been  notable  for  the  care  and 
thought  bestowed  on  the  unfortunate  classes  in  the 
community.  /Indeed,  provision  for  the  poor  was  one 
of  the  first  concerns  of  Boston  as  a  town,  and  the  ex- 
penditure for  this  purpose  ranked  with  that  for  streets 
and  schools.'  The  usual  method  was  to  dispense  out- 
door relief;  but  it  was  not  altogether  satisfactory,  and 
the  expenditures  seemed  to  be  incommensurate  with 
the  results.  There  was  also  an  almshouse  in  which 
not  only  the  worthy  poor  but  also  the  vagrant  and 
vicious  were  gathered,  especially  in  winter.  Similar 
conditions  prevailed  in  other  parts  of  the  Common- 
wealth. Special  committees  were  appointed  by  the 
General  Court  as  well  as  by  Boston  Town  to  study 
the  subject.  The  prevailing  system  of  out-door  relief 
was  condemned  as  wasteful,  and  the  establishment  of 
houses  of  industry  was  recommended  in  which  the 
able-bodied  could  be  kept  at  work.  In  order  to  carry 
out  this  recommendation,  the  town  government  of 
Boston  in  1821  made  an  appropriation  of  $41,000  for 
a  house  of  industry.  It  was  located  in  South  Boston 
where  63  acres  of  land  had  been  purchased.  Shortly 
after  the  inauguration  of  the  municipal  government, 
the  new  structure  was  turned  over  to  the  city  (in 
September,  1822);  and  it  was  finally  made  ready  for 
occupancy  in  1823. 

A  singular  delay  intervened.  Hitherto  the  Overseers 
of  the  Poor  had  been  elected  by  the  voters.  For  some 
reason,  the  city  charter  did  not  give  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  complete  authority  over  the  expenditures 
for  poor  relief,  although  they  controlled  almost  all  other 
items  of  expense.  The  City  Council  took  occasion  to 
limit  the  independence  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor. 
By  a  special  legislative  act,  which  was  passed  in  1823, 


136  1822  —  Boston — -1922. 

the  Council  secured  power  to  appoint  every  year  ' '  nine 
discreet  and  suitable  citizens"  to  be  directors  of  the 
House  of  Industry,  which  hitherto  had  been  managed 
by  the  Overseers.  The  latter  did  not  give  up  willingly 
and  a  struggle  ensued  lasting  until  1825,  when  their 
activities  were  restricted  to  out-door  relief;  but  they 
came  perilously  near  losing  their  powers  even  in  this 
respect. 

In  1824,  the  House  of  Correction  was  established  on 
the  same  tract  of  land  occupied  by  the  House  of  In- 
dustry. When  it  was  finally  built  at  a  cost  of  $5,000, 
it  stood  idle  for  more  than  twelve  months  for  lack  of 
money  to  make  it  suitable  for  occupancy.  The  city 
debt  had  risen  and  it  was  necessary  to  economize. 
Meanwhile  the  inmates  for  whom  it  was  intended  were 
taken  care  of  in  a  special  structure  erected  in  the  yard 
of  the  jail  on  Leverett  street.  In  1826,  a  part  of  the 
House  of  Correction  was  used  as  a  house  of  reforma- 
tion for  juvenile  offenders,  under  the  management  of 
the  directors  of  the  House  of  Industry. 

-^These  novel  improvements  took  place  under  Mayor 
Josiah  Quincy,  the  second  Mayor  of  Boston,  who  from 
the  days  of  town  government  had  led  the  fight  for  the 
better  care  of  the  poor  and  the  delinquent.  It  was  not 
until  1832  that  appropriations  were  made  to  complete 
the  equipment  of  the  House  of  Correction  at  South 
Boston.  But  the  transfer  of  prisoners  from  the 
Leverett  Street  Jail  necessitated  a  new  institution  for 
the  House  of  Reformation.  This  was  built  between 
1834  and  1837  at  a  cost  of  $50,000. 

Not  long  afterward  South  Boston  received  its  third 
institution,  namely,  a  hospital  for  the  insane,  which 
had  been  recommended  by  Mayor  Eliot  in  his  inaugural 
address  of  1837.  Hitherto,  the  insane  had  largely  been 
taken  care  of  in  penal  institutions,  for  an  act  of  1836 
required  every  county  in  connection  with  its  House  of 
Correction  to  maintain  "a  suitable  and  convenient 
apartment  or  receptacle  for  idiots  or  insane  persons." 
At  a  cost  of  $32,000,  a  separate  hospital  for  the  insane 
was  erected,  which  for  many  years  housed  not  only  the 
insane  of  Boston  but  also  those  of  other  towns.  Pre- 
viously,  insane  persons  had  been  sent  to  the  insane 


Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions.  137 

asylum  at  Worcester.  In  general,  the  care  bestowed 
on  these  unfortunates  was  lamentably  inadequate. 

While  these  improvements  were  in  process,  the 
quarrel  between  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  the 
city  government  went  on  merrily.  The  City  Council 
sought  time  and  again  to  gain  control  of  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor.  The  root  of  the 
contention  was  in  reality  who  should  spend  the  money 
for  relief.  It  was  declared  that  the  Overseers  drew 
money  from  the  City  Treasury  without  rendering  any 
account,  and  that  they  had  besides  an  independent 
income  from  various  trust  funds  and  spent  it  without 
supervision.  The  Overseers  were  also  accused  of  being 
unduly  liberal  givers.  The  alms  were  distributed  by 
wards  and  by  men  who  gave  very  little  time  to  the 
work,  while,  according  to  the  contention  of  the  Council, 
it  was  a  matter  requiring  expert  direction.  It  is  re- 
lated that  in  the  winter  time,  numerous  beggars  sought 
refuge  in  Boston  because  of  the  reputed  liberality  of 
the  Overseers  of  the  Poor. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  improvements  and  build- 
ing of  institutions  in  the  period  between  1828  and  1843, 
the  cost  of  poor  relief  and  institutions,  which  had 
formed  about  16  per  cent  of  the  annual  expenditure  in 
the  years  immediately  preceding  the  adoption  of  the 
.charter,  was  now  but  13  per  cent  of  the  total  annual 
expenditures.  To  offset  the  cost,  there  were  certain 
sources  of  income  thrqugh  the  payment  made  by  the 
Commonwealth  and  tiowns  for  the  support  of  their 
poor  in  Boston  and  also  from  the  labor  of  the  inmates 
of  institutions.  At  the  very  beginning,  the  city  govern- 
ment adopted  the  policy  of  placing  all  inmates  who  were 
capable  of  work  at  some  useful  occupation;  and  they 
turned  out  some  products  which  were  profitably  sold. 
There  is  no  account  of  the  total  income  from  these 
sources  in  earlier  years;  but  in  1841  it  amounted  to 
$25,000.  Furthermore,  the  Commonwealth  at  that 
time  was  without  almshouses,  the  one  at  Boston 
being  the  only  one  in  which  paupers  could  be  boarded 
out;  and  the  city  received  as  much  as  one  half  of  the 
total  amount  paid  by  the  Commonwealth  for  the 
maintenance  of  paupers. 


138  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

The  immediately  ensuing  years  were  not  so  encour- 
aging in  the  history  of  Boston's  charitable  and  institu- 
tional experiments.  The  expenditures  increased  stead- 
ily, and  there  were  other  causes  for  dissatisfaction. 
The  amount  spent  on  paupers  was  regarded  as  too 
liberal  and  as  occurring  under  a  lax  system.  In  truth, 
the  Commonwealth  had  more  liberal  poor  laws  than 
the  neighboring  states  which  gave  no  support  to  per- 
sons who  could  not  claim  settlement  in  some  town. 
Massachusetts  regarded  such  persons  as  state  paupers, 
which  was  equivalent  to  inviting  homeless  persons  to 
seek  help  in  Massachusetts,  particularly  in  Boston, 
and  more  especially  in  times  of  depression. 
^  The  recently  begun  emigration  to  this  country 
added  new  burdens.  Already  in  1824,  the  foreign  born 
admitted  to  the  House  of  Industry  were  numerous ;  but 
in  1834  their  number  was  almost  double  that  of  the 
'native  Americans.  In  his  inaugural  of  1835,  Mayor 
Lyman  called  attention  to  the  situation.  The  alien 
passenger  law  enacted  did  not  greatly  mend  it. 
-~  By  an  Act  of  1830,  the  city  and  town  authorities  were 
empowered  to  require  a  three-year  bond  from  the  trans- 
portation companies  that  an  immigrant  should  not 
become  a  public  charge.  Instead  of  a  bond  the  city 
might  demand  a  payment  of  $5.  During  the  first 
year,  the  collections  from  this  source  were  slight,  but 
in  1837  a  new  law  made  it  obligatory  to  require  a  bond 
for  ten  years  from  all  persons  likely  to  become  public 
burdens,  and  a  payment  of  a  head  tax  of  $2  by  all 
others.  The  income  from  this  source  did  not  for  long 
benefit  the  towns  and  cities,  as  an  Act  of  1840  com- 
pelled them  to  turn  the  surplus,  after  making  payments 
for  the  maintenance  of  alien  passengers,  into  the  state 
treasury.  The  constitutionality  of  the  alien  passenger 
law  was  denied  by  the  Supreme  Court.  Thereupon 
the  laws  were  revised  (1850),  and  the  Commonwealth 
took  over  the  task  of  collecting  the  head  tax. 

The  most  trying  institutional  period  was  during  the 
Irish  famine  when  shiploads  of  starving  people  came 
to  Boston,  especially  in  1847  and  1848.  The  famine- 
stricken  people  did  not  come  to  Massachusetts  wholly 
on  their  own  initiative,  for  the  New  England  Relief 


Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions.  139 

Committee,  which  had  sent  food  and  other  necessaries 
across  the  ocean,  brought  Irish  men  and  women  back 
in  great  numbers.  This  was  not  the  beginning  of  Irish 
immigration  to  Boston,  but  the  largest  hitherto. 
"Once  more  Boston's  bread  cast  upon  the  waters  re- 
turned after  many  days;  in  the  stomachs  of  brawny 
Irishmen  who  came  to  build  her  railroads,  tend  her 
looms,  and  control  her  politics." 

In  two  months  during  1847,  no  less  than  four  hundred 
of  these  immigrants  were  received  at  the  House  of 
Industry,  and  temporary  quarters  had  to  be  erected 
on  Deer  Island.  A  great  part  of  the  cost  had  to  be 
borne  by  Boston,  through  addition  to  its  institutions. 

Meanwhile  the  institutions  themselves  had  not  fared 
well.  They  did  not  operate  under  a  consistent  plan 
of  management.  The  House  of  Reformation  was  com- 
bined with  the.  House  of  Industry  in  1841  because  the 
Courts  would  not  permit  the  admission  of  children  to' 
the  former,  and  its  numbers  declined  in  consequence. 
The  House  of  Industry  was  not  found  adequate  for  its 
purposes,  and  the  question  was  being  considered  of 
providing  a  better  plant.  But  before  definite  conclu- 
sions were  reached,  a  new  complication  arose  which  gave 
a  different  turn  to'  affairs.  South  Boston  had  several 
strong  grievances  against  the  city  government,  chief 
among  them  being  that  their  section  had  been  made 
"the  Botany  Bay  of  the  city  into  which,  could* be  thrust 
those  establishments  which  the  city  'fathers  would  con- 
sider nuisances  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  own  pri- 
vate dwellings."  There  were  also  several  other  com-1 
plaints,  and,  in  its  memorial  to  the  City  Council,  South 
Boston  actually  threatened  to  declare  its  independence 
of  the  municipality.  Among  the  recommendations 
made  to  the  city  government,  the  one  particularly  per- 
tinent at  this  point  was  that  the  city  institutions  should 
be  placed  on  one  of  the  islands  of  the.--harbor.  But  the 
inhabitants  of  South  Boston  had  to  wait  until  1849 
for  authorization  of  the  transfer  of  the  House  of  Indus- 
try to  Deer  Island. 

"The  new  almshouse  was  erected  on  Deer  Island  be- 
tween 1849  and  1852  at  a  cost  of  $184,000.  But  Bos- 
ton had  not  reckoned  on  the  probability  that  the  Com- 


140  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

mon wealth  would  undertake  to  care  for  its  own  paupers. 
It  began  to  do  so  in  1854.  In  consequence,  to  the  city 
institutions,  which  at  that  time  housed  about  thirteen 
hundred  inmates,  had  been  added  a  costly  building  for 
which  there  were  almost  no  inmates.  At  first  the  city 
authorities  wished  to  make  the  almshouse  into  a  house 
of  correction  and  spent  much  money  to  that  end. 
The  paupers  were  meanwhile  to  be  sheltered  in  tem- 
porary wooden  buildings.  But  the  project  was  not 
carried  out  until  later.  Meanwhile  the  Boston  House 
of  Correction  was  enlarged. 

In  order  to  make  some  use  of  the  new  structure, 
Mayor  Rice  recommended  in  1857  that  part  of  the 
building  on  Deer  Island  should  be  made  ready  for 
occupancy  of  paupers  and  inmates  of  the  House  of 
Reformation.  He  also  desired  to  place  the  House  of 
Correction,  the  Houses  of  Industry  and  Reformation 
and  the  Hospital  for  the  Insane  under  one  manage- 
ment. At  the  time,  these  institutions  were  under  three 
distinct  boards  which  did  not  always  act  in  harmony. 
Under  a  special  act,  the  City  Council  was  authorized  to 
elect  annually  twelve  men  as  directors  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Institutions.  The  House  of  Reformation  and 
the  House  of  Industry  were  placed  under  the  same  roof 
at  Deer  Island.  The  old  buildings  in  South  Boston 
were  sold  and  the  land  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Land 
Commissioners. 

The  first  attempt  to  secure  the  establishment  of  a 
City  Hospital  was  made  in  1849,  when  a  cholera  epi- 
demic had  shown  the  necessity  of  such  an  institution. 
The  project  remained  dormant  until  1857;  it  was 
revived  by  Mayor  Rice,  and  supported  by  a  memorial 
from  leading  physicians.  In  the  following  year,  the 
General  Court  authorized  the  city  to  establish  and  main- 
tain "a  hospital  for  the  reception  of  persons,  who  by 
misfortune  or  poverty  may  require  relief  during  tem- 
porary sickness."  The  building  of  the  hospital  was 
in  part  made  possible  by  the  gift  of  Elisha  Goodnow 
who  had  left  the  city  $25,000  for  a  hospital,  provided 
it  was  established  in  South  Boston  or  at  the  South 
End.  A  portion  of  the  public  lands  in  what  was  then 
known  as  the  South  Bay  territory  was  chosen  as  the 


MRS.     ANN     WHITE     VOSE. 
(Benefacto'r  of  the   City    Hospital.) 


THOMAS    T.     WYMAN. 
Benefactor  of  the  City    Hospital.) 


Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions.  141 

site.  There  was  obviously  great  need  of  this  institu- 
tion in  a  city  so  large  as  Boston,  and  the  Civil  War  in- 
creased the  pressure  for  medical  service.  But  the  hos- 
pital was  not  completed  until  1864.  By  a  city  ordi- 
nance of  1862,  the  government  of  the  hospital  was  to 
consist  of  a  board  of  trustees  elected  by  the  City 
Council,  two  of  them  to  be  aldermen,  three  members 
of  the  City  Council,  and  three  citizens  at  large.  How 
great  a  need  the  hospital  was  destined  to  fill  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  in  half  a  dozen  years  its  facilities  had 
been  outgrown. 

To  allow  for  the  increased  demands  on  the  City  Hos- 
pital, an  appropriation  of  $190,000  was  made  and  ex- 
pended in  the  years  1875  and  1876.  The  hospital  was 
not  incorporated  until  1880,  because  the  City  Council 
believed  that  by  so  doing  the  management  would  get 
beyond  its  control,  although  Mayor  Prince  had  recom- 
mended the  step  as  a  means  of  securing  more  efficient 
management  and  a  larger  number  of  donations.  The 
smallpox  epidemic  in  1872  had  demonstrated  the  neces- 
sity of  special  buildings  for  the  care  of  patients  suffering 
from  epidemic  diseases. 

During;  the  -period  of  the  Civil  War  and  the  years 
immediately  following  it  showed  a  tremendous  increase 
in  the  outlay  of  public  institutions.  -From  i860  to 
1865,  the  expenditures  more  than  doubled  as  the  result 
of  the  establishment  of  the  City  Hospital  and  the 
relief  given  to  the  families  of  soldiers.  Later  on,  a 
rapid  increase  in  the  population  necessitated  corre- 
sponding increases  in  appropriations  for  the  care  of 
the  poor,  the  insane  and  criminal.  The  institutions 
were  crowded  "beyond  the  capacity  which  health, 
comfort  and  safekeeping  demand." 

The  status  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  was  finally 
settled  in  1864  by  substituting  for  the  old  ward  system 
of  election  the  choice  by  the  City  Council  of  twelve 
residents  of  Boston,  who  were  to  hold  office  for  three 
years  and  to  be  chosen  at  large.  The  alleged  wasteful 
methods  of  the  old  Overseers  have  already  been  noted. 
A  climax  seems  to  have  been  reached  in  t862  when  they 
expended  more  than  $90,000  and  exceeded  their  appro- 
priation.    In    the    following   year,    the    City    Council 


142  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

forced  the  Board  of  Overseers  to  do  its  work  for  $39,000. 
How  strong  the  feeling  had  run  in  this  controversy- 
is  evidenced  by  the  statement  of  Mayor  Lincoln  in 
1865  that  henceforth  "the  swarm  of  beggars,  who 
in  the  winter  time  took  up  their  abode  with  us  to  live 
upon  our  alms,  will  be  forced  to  labor  for  their  living." 

The  conditions  under  which  the  Overseers  worked 
were  greatly  improved  by  the  establishment  of  a  cen- 
tral office  building  on  Hawkins  street  at  a  cost,  includ- 
ing the  land,  of  about  $200,000.  Part  of  the  money 
was  provided  by  subscriptions  from  private  sources. 
The  new  building  also  sheltered  many  private  chari- 
table organizations  and  served  as  a  temporary  home 
for  the  destitute.  By  a  charter  amendment  of  1885, 
the  appointment  of  the  Overseers  was  transferred  to  the 
Mayor,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Aldermen. 

The  question  of  the  proper  classification  of  inmates 
in  institutions  had  long  been  agitated.  In  the  House 
of  Industry  were  found  both  paupers  and  criminals. 
Apart  of  the  responsibility  of  this  vicious  condition  lay 
in  the  laws  themselves,  which  gave  the  city  permission 
to  send  minor  offenders  either  to  the  House  of  Industry 
or  the  House  of  Correction.  Boston  had  taken  advan- 
tage of  this  law  to  such  an  extent  that  in  1862  much 
more  than  half  the  inmates  of  the  House  of  Industry 
were  serving  sentences.  To  mend  the  situation,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  erect  a  new  building,  and  in  1870 
an  appropriation  for  an  almshouse  on  Deer  Island,  to 
contain  paupers  only,  was  actually  made.  But  con- 
struction was  delayed,  for  the  question  of  separating 
paupers  and  criminals  would  not  down.  A  partial  re- 
lief was  found  by  removing  male  paupers  to  Rainsford 
Island.  Finally,  the  so-called  Austin  Farm  in  West 
Roxbury  was  chosen  as  a  place  for  the  new  almshouse, 
in  1873.  Meanwhile  the  new  House  of  Reformation 
had  been  completed  which  permitted  a  better  classi- 
fication of  juvenile  offenders. 

Boston  had  hitherto  clung  to  the  principle  of  caring 
for  her  insane  in  the  Lunatic  Hospital,  so-called,  erected 
in  1839  at  South  Boston,  in  order  that  the  inmates 
might  be  near  their  families.  But  that  institution  had 
become  utterly  inadequate  by  i860,  and  it  was  planned 


Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions.  143 

at  great  cost  to  erect  a  suitable  building  for  the  insane 
in  the  town  of  Winthrop,  the  City  Council  authorizing 
the  necessary  expenditure.  The  land  required  was 
actually  purchased ;  but  when  the  time  came  for  appro- 
priating money  for  the  building, —  it  was  to  be  a  very 
elaborate  structure  —  Mayor  Norcross  vetoed  it,  hold- 
ing that  in  a  time  of  inflation  (1865)  the  expenditure 
would  be  very  much  larger  than  anticipated.  The 
Mayor's  veto  was  overridden  by  the  Aldermen  and 
came  very  near  suffering  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the 
Common  Council.  But  saner  thought  prevailed.  In 
1873,  the  General  Court  was  petitioned  for  an  allow- 
ance equal  to  the  amount  assessed  on  the  city  for  the 
support  of  the  insane,  or  for  the  establishment  of  a  hos- 
pital near  Boston.  The  outcome  was  that  the  Com- 
monwealth provided  for  the  erection  of  a  hospital  for 
the  insane  at  Dan  vers. 

The  income  from  institutional  labor  was  self -evi- 
dently not  sufficient  to  meet  the  outgo.  Several  at- 
tempts had  been  made  to  render  the  House  of  Cor- 
rection self-supporting;  and  its  receipts  from  labor 
in  1859  were  about  $25,000,  but  in  the  following  years, 
which  include  those  of  the  Civil  War,  it  was  difficult 
to  find  a  market  for  the  products  of  this  institution.  At 
the  close  of  the  war,  the  receipts  grew  materially 
through  the  introduction  of  the  manufacture  of  shoes, 
so  that  from  1869  until  1872  the  House  of  Correction 
became  nearly  self-supporting. 

The  opportunity  for  the  employment  of  female  pris- 
oners had  also  been  improved  through  the  introduction 
of  sewing  machines.  During  the  period  of  depression, 
in  1873,  the  receipts  fell  off  again.  In  these  hard  times, 
the  jealousy  of  free  labor  toward  institutional  products 
became  manifest  for  the  first  time.  Indeed  it  became 
so  pronounced  that  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
of  the  City  Council  was  called  for  to  consider  ' '  whether 
the  present  mode  of  employing  criminals  in  city  insti- 
tutions has  the  effect  of  reducing  wages  of  workmen  or 
depriving  them  of  employment."  So  far  as  known 
the  committee  did  not  answer  the  question,  since  it 
held  that  matters  of  employment  were  in  the  hands  of 
the  Board  of  Directors  of  Public  Institutions.     Of  the 


144  l&22 — Boston — 1922. 

receipts  from  remunerative  labor  from  the  other  insti- 
tutions, little  need  be  said.  Mayor  Lincoln  had  advo- 
cated the  development  of  the  agricultural  resources  on 
Long  Island  and  to  some  purpose.  Then,  too,  stone- 
cutting  had  been  introduced  and  increased  the  receipts 
from  the  House  of  Industry.  There  was  also  income 
from  the  Austin  Farm  and  a  very  considerable  increase 
in  receipts  from  the  board  of  patients  at  the  Boston  City 
Hospital. 

During  the  period  1874  to  1886,  the  expenditure  for 
institutions  rose  gradually  in  all  its  branches,  with  an 
exceptional  year  intervening.  The  cost  of  out-door 
relief  advanced,  partly,  because  of  newly  annexed  terri- 
tory and,  partly,  owing  to  the  outlay  for  physicians  and 
medicines  through  the  service  of  the  Boston  Dispen- 
sary. Another  reason  was  the  adoption  of  a  stricter 
settlement  law  that  had  the  effect  of  reducing  the  num- 
ber of  state  paupers,  which  meant  increased  burdens  to 
the  individual  towns  and  cities. 

Deer  Island  became  crowded,  and  there  was  need  at 
once  of  securing  accommodations  elsewhere.  Austin 
Farm,  purchased  in  1873,  had  not  been  utilized,  but 
finally  buildings  were  completed  in  1877,  and  the 
female  paupers  housed  there  were  transferred  to  them 
from  Deer  Island.  Other  changes  made  were  the  utili- 
zation of  the  old  Roxbury  Almshouse  on  Marcella 
street  for  destitute  and  neglected  boys,  and  the  refitting 
of  the  Charlestown  Almshouse  for  aged  paupers. 
Shortly  after,  in  1879,  a  home  for  girls  was  erected  on 
Marcella  street.  The  makeshift  policy  which  hitherto 
maintained  could  not  endure  for  long.  The  city  was 
compelled  once  more  to  find  adequate  shelter  for  some 
of  its  institutions,  accordingly  Long  Island  was  pur- 
chased and  the  necessary  money  provided  for  the 
erection  of  buildings  to  shelter  about  five  hundred 
paupers.  The  expense  for  the  care  of  paupers  in- 
creased from  $209,000  in  1874  to  more  than  $343,000 
in  1886.  The  number  of  inmates  had  grown  mean- 
while from  1,500  to  2,378. 

In  spite  of  the  continued  protest  and  ill-feelings  over 
the  presence  of  the  House  of  Correction  at  South  Bos- 
ton, which  had  been  voiced  at  different  periods,  it  still 
remained  in  the  old  place. 


Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions.  145 

The  erection  of  the  Danvers  State  Hospital  made 
available  accommodations  for  more  than  four  hundred 
patients.  There  was  much  insistence  that  the  city 
should  build  a  new  hospital  for  the  insane  of  its  own. 
The  local  institution  continued  to  be  filled  regardless  of 
transfers  to  Danvers,  and  the  city  was  accordingly 
obliged  to  send  larger  and  larger  numbers  to  state  insti- 
tutions. By  1885,  Boston  had  622  insane  in  state 
asylums.  The  pressure  on  the  state  institutions  grew, 
and  the  General  Court  insisted  that  the  municipality 
should  provide  better  facilities  for  her  own  insane. 

The  Department  of  Public  Institutions  continued  to 
be  under  the  management  of  a  Board  of  Directors  until 
1885,  but  with  the  enactment  of  a  new  charter,  which 
prohibited  members  of  the  Council  to  serve  on  the 
executive  board,  the  number  cf  directors  was  reduced 
to  nine,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  subject  to  the 
confirmation  of  the  Aldermen. 

The  work  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  went  on  with 
little  variation  except  that  occasioned  by  the  changing 
times.  At  every  period  of  depression  the  expenditures 
rose,  only  to  fall  off  again  when  better  times  ensued. 
The  difficulty  was  to  get  sufficient  money  to  meet  emer- 
gencies. Thus,  during  the  hard  times  in  the  early 
nineties,  one  effort  after  another  to  have  the  city  make 
special  appropriations  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  either 
by  direct  expenditure  or  by  finding  employment,  failed. 

Under  the  statute,  there  was  no  other  channel  for  the 
expenditure  of  city  money  for  poor  relief  than  the 
Overseers  of  the  Poor.  Conditions  proved  so  bad  that 
in  1894  Mayor  Matthews  issued  an  appeal  to  citizens 
to  aid  in  overcoming  the  distress;  and  a  relief  com- 
mittee was  formed  which,  among  other  things,  carried 
out  work  on  streets,  parks  and  sewers  during  the  winter 
months,  the  expenditures  being  borne  in  part  by  pri- 
vate contributions.  There  is  no  indication  of  waste  on 
the  part  of  the  Overseers;  they  were  rather  economical 
in  their  management,  but  unable  to  meet  a  distressful 
condition.  It  was  not  until  1905  that  the  Overseers 
required  light  work  from  all  able-bodied  men  in  return 
for  shelter  and  food. 

The  question  of  the  management  of  the  correctional 
and  charitable  institutions  in  Boston  had  always  given 


146  iS22  —  Boston — 1922. 

rise  to  a  variety  of  opinion  and  to  much  contention. 
These  institutions,  as  they  grew  up,  were  not  at  first 
placed  under  the  same  management.  Naturally,  this 
made  for  lack  of  understanding  and  co-operation,  and 
was  considered  wasteful,  especially  in  the  matter  of 
purchasing  supplies.  The  first  experiment  in  uniting 
the  institutions  under  an  unpaid  board  was  not  success- 
ful. The  next  experiment  was  to  transfer  the  control 
of  the  various  institutions  to  paid  directors,  to  be 
appointed  by  the  Mayor  subject  to  the  confirmation 
of  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  This  innovation  was  actu- 
ally carried  out  in  1889,  but  did  not  give  the  antici- 
pated satisfaction.  The  succeeding  change  was  to 
place  the  whole  department  under  the  control  of  a 
single  commissioner.  The  entire  trend  of  depart- 
mental work  had  been  toward  substituting  a  single  head 
for  boards. 

But  under  Mayor  Quincy,  the  last  of  his  name,  rad- 
ical changes  in  institutional  government  were  proposed 
and  carried  out.  In  1897,  authority  was  obtained  for 
separate  departments  to  take  charge  of  children,  pau- 
pers, the  insane  and  criminals.  The  criminals  were 
placed  under  the  management  of  a  paid  commissioner, 
to  be  appointed  by  the  Mayor  without  confirmation  of 
the  Board  of  Aldermen.  The  children,  paupers  and 
the  insane  were  placed  under  separate  boards  of  trus- 
tees, one  for  each  class,  who  served  without  pay  for 
terms  of  five  years  and  were  appointed  by  the  Mayor 
without  confirmation  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  Mayor 
Quincy  was  very  strongly  imbued  with  the  value  of 
unpaid  boards  for  institutions,  and  recommended  them 
unhesitatingly  in  his  inaugurals  of  1896  and  1897.  At 
his  instigation  also  they  were  later  adopted  in  other 
departments.  One  object  to  be  obtained  by  the  new 
departure  was  a  better  classification  of  inmates.  Mayor 
Quincy's  plans  were  put  in  operation  in  1897  and  neces- 
sitated many  changes  both  in  the  location  of  institu- 
tions and  their  capacity.  Among  the  plans  for  carry- 
ing out  his  ideas  was  the  construction  of  a  new  institu- 
tion to  be  known  as  the  Suffolk  County  Reformatory, 
which  was  to  receive,  ultimately,  all  the  inmates  of  the 
South  Boston  institution. 


SILAS     DURKEE,     M.    D, 
(Benefactor  of  the   City   Hospital.) 


Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions. 

It  was  not  until  November,  1902,  that  the  HonSe 
of  Correction  at  South  Boston  was  emptied  and  the 
inmates  transferred  to  their  new  home  on  Deer 
Island.  But  already  in  1908,  Deer  Island  had  be- 
come overcrowded,  in  spite  of  the  erection  of  the  new 
reformatory. 

The  cost  of  the  Paupers'  Institutions  Department 
increased  very  greatly  during  the  new  regime  instituted 
by  Mayor  Quincy.  The  trustees  had  charge  of  the 
almshouses  at  Long  Island  and  Chariest  own.  The 
first  mentioned  was  in  the  nature  of  a  hospital,  the  alms- 
house at  Charlestown  being  reserved  for  aged  couples. 
The  almshouse  at  Long  Island  had  been  relieved  from 
many  of  its  former  objectionable  inmates  who,  under 
the  vagrant  law  of  1898,  were  committed  to  the  State 
Farm  at  Bridgewater.  The  name  of  the  department 
was  changed  in  1908  to  the  Infirmary  Department, 
which  implied  a  clear  recognition  of  the  character  of  its 
service. 

The  old  Charlestown  Almshouse,  containing  105 
inmates,  was  sold  to  the  Boston  Elevated  Railway  Com- 
pany in  191 1  for  $72,000,  a  location  for  the  railway 
through  the  property  having  been  granted  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court.  These  inmates  were  eventually  trans- 
ferred to  the  Long  Island  Almshouse  where  additional 
dormitories  were  erected. 

By  1 916,  the  average  population  at  Long  Island  was 
954  and  the  per  capita  expenditure  $4.14  per  week. 
After  the  completion  of  the  new  buildings,  the  value  of 
the  real  estate  belonging  to  the  institution  amounted 
to  $1,386,100.  By  an  ordinance  of  1920,  the  Infirmary 
Department  was  merged  with  Children's  Institutions, 
Institutions  Registration,  and  the  Penal  Institutions, 
forming  the  Institutions  Department. 

Lender  the  trustee  system  of  government,  the  Chil- 
dren's Institutions  Department  grew  rapidly,  also  in 
cost,  but  better  care  was  given  the  young  wards  of  the 
city.  The  policy  was  adopted  of  placing  pauper  chil- 
dren in  homes  in  the  country,  which  soon  permitted  the 
closing  of  the  Marcella  Street  Home. 

Early  in  19 14,  Mayor  Curley  recommended _Jhe 
abolition  of  the  Parental  SchoolJnWest  Roxbury  and, 


148  1S22  —  Boston- — 1922. 

the  Suffolk  School  for  Boys  on  RamsfordJslanH,  hplW- 
mg  it  to"  be  harmful  to  house  new  iuvenile  offenders 
with  the  older  and  more  or  less  vicious.  In  the  same 
yearT  the  Parental  School  was  abolished,  the  104  boys 
returning  to  their  homes,  thereat ter  to  attencL_dis^ 
Tjjpli'nary  day  schools  in  charge  of  the  School  Committee. 
The  Parental  School  buildings  were  eventually  occu- 
pied by  a  branch  ot  the  City  Hospital,  called  the  West 
Derjajdment-  The  Suffolk  School  for  Boys  was  closed^ 
in  1920.  Of  its  inmates,  306  were  placed  on  probation 
and  others  were  transferred  to  state  training  schools. 
By  the  ordinances  of  1920,  the  Children's  Institutions 
Department  became  the  Child  Welfare  Division  of  the 
new  Institutions  Department. 

^  At  the  House  of  Correction  on  Deer  Island,  the 
average  daily  population  in  1909  was  1,479,  the  largest 
since  1905.  By  191 1,  that  average  had  dropped  to 
1,100.  This  decline  continued  steadily  because  of  the 
increased  application  of  the  probationary  fine  and  sus- 
pended sentence  laws.  Under  the  Uniform  Desertion 
Act,  the  Master  of  the  House  of  Correction  was  re- 
quired to  pay  to  the  probation  officer,  and  he,  in  turn, 
to  the  wife  or  dependent  of  the  prisoner,  fifty  cents  for 
each  day's  work  performed  by  him.  This  law,  apply- 
ing to  men  imprisoned  for  nonsupport,  was  so  success- 
ful that  it  brought  about  the  equally  salutary  Depend- 
ent Parents'  Act.  In  191 8  the  average  population  at 
Deer  Island  had  fallen  to  379.  The  Massachusetts 
Prison  Commission  had  transferred  340  men  to  State 
Prison  camps,  and  the  commitments  for  drunkenness 
had  diminished  by  54  per  cent.  In  the  same  year  a 
prison  school  was  established  with  classes  in  English, 
American  history,  civics,  arithmetic,  drawing,  type- 
writing, etc.  Hundreds  of  books  from  the  Public 
Library  were  supplied,  debating  and  community  sing- 
ing exercises  encouraged  and  extreme  severity  in  dis- 
cipline dropped.  The  advance  in  the  morale  of  the 
inmates  improved  markedly.  By  January  1,  1920, 
there  were  only  242  inmates  of  the  House  of  Correc- 
tion, and  it  was  believed  that  consolidation  with  other 
similar  institutions  would  become  necessary  in  the 
interest  of  economy.     The  number  of  female  inmates 


Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions.         149 

was  so  small  that  on  January  1  they  were  removed  to 
the  Suffolk  County  Jail,  and  no  further  commitments 
of  women  to  Deer  Island  were  made.  The  number  of 
employees  there  was  reduced  from  90  to  77. 

The  Hospital  for  the  Insane  had  been  continuously 
enlarged  and  was  destined  soon  to  take  on  an  entirely 
different  character.  In  1887,  there  had  been  estab- 
lished a  home  for  chronic  and  mild  cases  of  insanit}^ 
in  the  buildings  at  Austin  Farm  vacated  by  the  re- 
moval of  female  paupers  to  Long  Island.  At  the  end 
of  1 891,  no  less  than  427  insane  were  cared  for  by  the 
city  in  its  own  institution.  In  the  following  year,  the 
so-called  Pierce  Farm,  adjacent  to  Austin  Farm,  was 
bought,  and  five  years  later,  after  an  expenditure  of 
nearly  $500,000  in  the  erection  of  new  buildings,  the 
old  lunatic  hospital  at  South  Boston  was  abandoned. 
Meanwhile,  the  cost  of  caring  for  Boston's  insane  in 
state  institutions  had  grown  considerably,  so  that  Mayor 
Quincy  was  able  to  remark  that  it  would  be  greater 
economy  for  Boston  to  re-assume  all  responsibility  for 
the  care  of  her  insane.  But  the  Commonwealth  wished 
to  assume  the  entire  cost  of  looking  after  the  insane, 
beginning  with  January  1,  1904,  and  legislated  accord- 
ingly. A  law  of  1900  prescribed  that  all  insane  not 
in  state  institutions  should  be  transferred  to  them,  but 
made  an  exception  of  the  Boston  Insane  Hospital. 

The  city  was  allowed  $3.25  a  week  for  every  free 
patient,  but  between  1901  and  1905  it  became  neces- 
sary to  make  large  improvements  to  provide  for  the 
growing  number  of  insane,  and  more  than  $400,000 
were  expended  for  this  purpose.  At  the  end  of  1906, 
there  were  700  patients,  but  the  institution  was  crowded. 
Finally,  it  became  evident  that  from  every  point  of 
view  the  city  would  be  more  fortunately  placed  by 
having  the  Commonwealth  take  over  the  entire  charge 
of  the  care  of  the  insane.  The  Finance  Commission 
had  so  recommended.  Mayor  Hart  was  in  sympathy 
with  the  proposal,  and  under  an  Act  of  1908,  the  Com- 
monwealth took  possession  of  the  insane  hospital,  which 
was  henceforth  to  be  known  as  the  Boston  Insane 
Asylum.  The  city  was  reimbursed  by  the  Common- 
wealth to  the  amount  of  $1,000,000  for  the  property. 


150  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

The  maintenance  of  the  institution  had  cost  the  city 
from  $160,000  to  $170,000  a  year. 

The  City  Hospital  had  grown  apace,  necessitating 
an  almost  continual  expenditure  for  the  enlargement 
of  the  plant.  Thus,  from  1893  to  1898,  $1,200,000  were 
spent  on  new  buildings  which  almost  doubled  the 
capacity  of  the  hospital.  The  plan  of  construction 
adopted  was  to  erect  additional  pavilions  and  to  con- 
nect them  with  the  central  structure.  This  allowed 
for  a  great  concentration  of  patients  and  a  lower  cost 
for  their  maintenance.  In  the  year  1908,  the  outlay 
for  the  City  Hospital  amounted  to  $909,000,  or  ex- 
ceeding four  times  the  amount  expended  in  1887. 

From  this  time  on  the  activities  of  the  hospital  have 
been  extended  in  different  directions  as  may  be  seen 
from  a  few  figures.  The  number  of  beds  in  the  main 
hospital  and  south  departments  increased  from  995 
to  1,128  in  1920.  During  the  same  time,  the  number 
of  patients,  exclusive  of  out-patient  departments,  in- 
creased from  15,251  in  1910  to  20,328  in  1920.  Owing 
to  the  facilities  offered  elsewhere,  the  number  of  persons 
applying  to  the  out-patient  department  has  shown  a 
decrease  since  19 10. 

All  in  all,  since  the  City  Hospital  was  first  opened 
in  1864,  over  half  a  million  house  patients  have  been 
treated  in  the  various  departments  up  to  February, 
1 92 1,  and  there  have  been  nearly  two  million  out- 
patients treated.  The  cost  of  maintenance  of  the  City 
Hospital  increased  from  $535,873  in  1910  to  $1,239,291 
in  1920.  The  figures  for  the  year  last  mentioned  were 
offset  by  income  from  pay  patients  amounting  to 
$167,009. 

Under  the  Hospital  Department  is  also  the  Con- 
valescent Home,  the  Haymarket  Square  Relief  Station, 
the  East  Boston  Relief  Station,  and  the  so-called  West 
Department  in  West  Roxbury,  which  at  present  is 
leased  to  the  United  States  Government. 

The  Hospital  Department  holds  trust  funds  to  the 
amount  of  $97,750,  the  interest  for  which  is  available 
for  specific  objects.  The  most  important  bequest  in 
recent  years  is  one  of  $200,000  to  be  used  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Thorndike  Memorial  Building  for  X-ray 
work,  etc. 


LAMONT     G.     BURNHAM. 
(Benefactor  of  the   City    Hospital.) 


CONSUMPTIVES'     HOSPITAL,    MATTAPAN. 


Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions.  151 

The  city  government  was  authorized  to  borrow 
$150,000  to  add  to  the  bequest  so  that  a  suitable  build- 
ing may  be  assured. 

The  latest  addition  to  the  charitable  institutions 
under  the  control  of  the  City  of  Boston  is  a  hospital  for 
consumptives.  The  trustees  for  this  institution  were 
appointed  in  1906  and  had  charge  of  the  expenditure  of 
$514,000,  raised  by  loans,  for  the  land,  buildings  and 
equipment  of  the  hospital.  They  purchased  the  Con- 
ness  estate,  fifty-five  acres,  in  Mattapan,  where  they 
since  have  erected  three  ward  buildings,  four  cottage 
wards  and  the  children's  ward,  as  well  as  the  domestic 
administration  building.  The  care  and  management 
cf  the  institution  are  entrusted  to  the  trustees,  who  have 
the  power  to  make  all  necessary  rules  and  regulations. 
Only  bona  fide  residents  of  Boston  are  admitted  to  the 
hospital.  The  institution  supplies  a  great  want  in  the 
fight  against  tuberculosis. 

The  tremendous  burden  of  affording  proper  facilities 
for  the  care  of  the  sick  of  Boston  would  have  been 
vastly  added  to  but  for  the  establishment  from  time 
to  time  of  special  and  general  hospitals  under  private 
auspices;  but  their  story,  like  that  of  other  institu- 
tions and  organizations  of  benevolence,  is  not  a  part  of 
this  sketch  of  Boston's  activities  through  its  municipal 
administration . 


152  r822  —  Boston — 1922. 


STREET   BETTERMENT. 


The  town  had  done  little  in  the  last  years  of  its  exist- 
ence to  widen  its  wandering  and  narrow  streets  and 
thus  bequeathed  to  the  city  the  task  of  adapting  the 
highways  to  the  needs  of  a  rapidly  growing  city.  How 
the  highways  of  Boston  in  its  older  parts  even  now 
seem  to  ramble  on  at  will,  like  the  cow  paths  of  old, 
is  still  a  cause  of  bewilderment  to  the  stranger  and  of 
annoyance  to  some  inhabitants  who  lack  the  sense  of 
locality.  The  problem  of  laying  out  and  improving 
the  city  streets  has  been  a  bone  of  great  contention  and 
a  source  of  enormous  expenditure  in  the  course  of 
100  years. 

The  charter  of  1822  gave  the  Board  of  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  power  to  widen,  lay  out,  and  discontinue 
streets.  The  care  of  the  streets  was  also  transferred 
to  this  board  by  a  special  act  of  1822.  Later  on,  the 
greater  part  of  street  work  was  done  by  a  committee  of 
the  board;  but  in  1837  the  board  itself  was  supplanted 
by  the  office  of  a  Superintendent  of  Streets.  In  the 
following  decade,  streets  of  special  importance  at  the 
time,  such  as  Broad,  Commercial,  Prince  and  Tremont 
streets,  were  greatly  extended.  Blackstone  street  was 
laid  out  at  the  extraordinary  cost  of  $80,000  because 
it  extended  over  the  site  of  Mill  Creek,  which  formerly 
divided  the  town.  As  the  city  grew  rapidly,  the  cost 
of  paving  and  repairing  increased  in  proportion.  Mayor 
Lyman  mentions  the  fact  that  the  increase  in  city  trade 
had  brought  a  crowd  ' '  of  heavy  laden  wagons  upon  our 
pavement." 

There  was  one  important  element  lacking  in  pro- 
viding for  the  extension  and  improvement  of  streets: 
that  of  power  to  levy  special  assessments  on  the  prop- 
erty to  be  benefited.  If  Boston  had  been  given  author- 
ity to  do  this,  a  heavy  burden  would  have  been  saved, 
and  the  streets  would  have  been  in  a  much  better  con- 
dition today.     Mayor  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  realized  this 


Street  Betterment.  153 

and  sought  legislation  authorizing  the  city  to  levy 
assessments  for  street  betterments.  The  bill  intro- 
duced for  this  purpose  was  defeated,  according  to  the 
city  committee  on  finance,  "by  the  exertions  of  inter- 
ested men  and  by  the  operations  of  some  of  the  local 
representatives  of  the  city."  A  source  of  waste  of  city 
money  for  street  purposes  was  the  system  of  purchas- 
ing land  at  a  very  high  rate.  It  was  common  knowl- 
edge at  the  time,  as  Mayor  Lincoln  said  in  his  inau- 
gural of  1885  that  "interested  individuals  frequently 
sought  improvements  of  streets  which  did  not  benefit 
the  public,  but  helped  to  raise  the  value  of  particular 
estates  at  the  expense  of  the  public." 

By  the  middle  of  the  forties,  the  expense  for  street 
purposes  had  already  become  a  great  drain  on  the  city 
treasury,  which  could  only  be  met  by  loans  since  the 
city  had  no  power  of  assessment  for  street- widening 
purposes.  Many  citizens  were  content  with  the  pre- 
vailing order  of  things  and  found  support  in  conserva- 
tives like  Mayor  Bigelow,  who  thought  the  streets  were 
wide  enough  for  all  needful  uses  and  even  recommended 
omitting  the  ordinary  annual  appropriation  for  the 
extension  and  widening  of  the  streets.  He  held  that  it 
was  enough  to  enforce  the  law  against  street  obstruc- 
tion in  order  to  permit  traffic  to  go  on  unhindered. 
His  vigorous  fight  for  retrenchment  had  some  effect 
as  the  expenditures  for  widening  streets  were  soon  re- 
duced by  more  than  one-fifth.  He  saved  the  pennies 
and  forced  those  who  came  after  him  to  spend  the 
pounds. 

From  1822  to  1859,  a  total  of  $3,788,087  had  been 
spent  for  widening  and  extending  streets.  At  the 
same  time,  the  maintenance  of  streets,  paving,  etc., 
rose  in  proportion.  Indeed,  as  an  annual  expenditure 
it  became  quite  as  important  to  the  city  treasury  as 
as  the  more  fluctuating  expenditure  for  widening  and 
extending  streets.  Retrenchment  for  street  purposes 
became  necessary  during  the  Civil  War  and  demanded 
postponement  of  many  plans  for  improvement,  al- 
though the  congestion  had  grown,  and  there  was  a 
constant  demand  for  wider  steets  as  well  as  for  exten- 
sions in  several  directions. 


154  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

There  followed  a  period  (from  1867  to  1873)  in  which 
street  projects  of  great  magnitude  were  carried  on. 
The  first  was  the  reduction  of  Fort  Hill  which  had  long 
stood  in  the  way  of  street  improvements.  This  hill,  of 
about  twenty  acres  in  area,  topped  by  a  pleasant  park 
known  as  Washington  square,  was  long  the  abode  of 
many  wealthy  citizens.  But  they  had  been  crowded 
out  by  the  pressure  of  business,  so  that  Fort  Hill  at 
the  time  under  consideration  was  tenanted  by  the 
poorest  inhabitants.  When  the  city  secured  the  nec- 
essary authority  from  the  General  Court  for  the  reduc- 
tion of  Fort  Hill,  it  stood  covered  by  ugly  tenements 
and  was  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  spread  of  the  whole- 
sale district  of  the  city.  Fortunately,  under  the  Act 
of  1865,  the  city  could  take  private  property  and 
assess  damages  on  the  abutting  estates  in  proportion 
to  value,  as  appraised  by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen; 
or,  the  owner  might  accept  the  valuation  named  by 
the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  before  damages  were  esti- 
mated. The  act  even  provided  for  a  jury  trial  by 
owners  who  might  be  aggrieved  by  the  decision  of  the 
municipal  authorities.  The  city  made  good  use  of  this 
power  in  dealing  with  Fort  Hill. 

It  took  about  six  years  to  reduce  Fort  Hill  to  the 
proper  level.  The  work  was  finally  finished  in  1872. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  one  time  fashionable  eminence 
did  not  leave  their  homes  willingly.  It  is  said  that 
some  of  them  remained  in  their  houses  "until  the 
roofs  were  taken  off  and  the  rooms  laid  open  to  the 
sky." 

At  first  great  difficulty  was  found  in  disposing  of  the 
540,000  cubic  yards  of  earth  which  had  to  be  carried 
off.  But  when  Atlantic  avenue  had  been  constructed, 
the  earth  could  be  dumped  at  the  docks.  The  cost  of 
reducing  Fort  Hill  had  been  estimated  at  half  a  million 
dollars,  but  in  the  end  it  amounted  to  about  a  million 
dollars.  In  return,  Boston  had  added  twenty  acres 
to  its  business  area.  Incidental  to  the  work  of  reduc- 
ing the  hill,  the  city  had  taken  a  considerable  area  of 
land,  which  had  been  surrendered  by  its  owners  and 
later  on  was  sold  by  the  city.  At  the  time  Fort  Hill 
was  leveled,  the  district  from  Rowe's  Wharf  to  the  East 


Street  Betterment.  155 

Boston  Ferry  consisted  of  "a  ragged  fringe  of  streets 
with  its  old-fashioned  wharves  reaching  out  here  and 
there  to  deep  water." 

The  next  big  street  undertaking  was  to  replace  this 
fringe  by  a  broad  street  running  down  the  waterfront 
and  named  Atlantic  avenue.  It  took  about  four  years 
to  complete  this  project,  which  had  been  decided  upon 
in  1868  and  included  filling  in  some  of  the  old  docks, 
so  as  to  add  land  for  building  purposes  and  provide  a 
better  approach  to  the  wharves.  The  total  cost  was 
about  two  and  one  half  million  dollars.  This  time  the 
city  had  the  co-operation  of  the  abutters  as  to  damages 
and  betterments,  for  the  General  Court  had  at  last 
given  the  Board  of  Aldermen  full  power  to  take  over 
land  for  street  purposes  and  assess  the  abutters  to  the 
amount  of  not  more  than  one  half  of  the  benefit  ad- 
judged. The  General  Court  was,  evidently,  reluctant 
to  give  the  City  Council  this  much  power  in  laying  out, 
widening  and  improving  the  streets  of  Boston.  The 
law  was  modified  later  on,  so  that  the  city  might  assess 
upon  the  abutting  property  its  proportionate  share  of 
the  cost  up  to  one  half  of  the  special  benefit  to  be  de- 
rived, as  determined  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  It 
was  easy  to  foresee  the  numerous  advantages  to  the 
city  of  this  law.  Mayor  Norcross  at  once  expressed  his 
opinion  that  "if  this  law  shall  be  judiciously  admin- 
istered, it  will  correct  defects  which  have  long  been 
felt  to  exist  and  tend  to  equalize  the  burden  conse- 
quent upon  the  widening  of  our  narrow  streets." 

South  Boston,  which  had  long  complained  of  being 
treated  as  a  step-child  by  the  administration,  at  last 
had  its  share  of  street  improvements  through  the  ex- 
penditure of  nearly  a  million  dollars,  in  1869,  for  the 
extension  of  Broadway  and  widening  Federal  street, 
formerly  the  principal  thoroughfare  to  the  peninsula. 

In  1873,  the  city  almost  doubled  its  appropriations 
for  the  extension  and  widening  of  streets  on  account 
of  the  large  area  laid  waste  by  the  Great  Fire.  Mayor 
Pierce  said  in  his  inaugural  of  1873,  "The  best  form  in 
which  we  can  commemorate  the  great  disaster  which 
has  overtaken  us  is  by  establishing  wider  streets  in  the 
district  covered  by  fire,  and  improved  methods  in  the 


156  iS22  —  Boston- — 1922. 

construction  of  buildings  throughout  the  city."  As 
the  administration  could  not  give  a  clear  title  to  some 
of  the  land  forming  the  old  streets  and  which  had  been 
taken  for  street  purposes,  it  was  obliged  to  content 
itself  with  widening  and  straightening  the  existing 
thoroughfares  at  a  cost  of  about  five  million  dollars. 
The  street  improvements  at  the  time  included  the 
laying-out  of  Columbus  avenue  and  Dartmouth  streets, 
which  was  done  without  cost  to  the  city,  for  the  land 
was  contributed  by  the  owners  of  the  property  bene- 
fited. 

So  far  the  street  work  had  been  in  charge  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  which  had  not  been  equal  to  the 
amount  of  work  required,  and  was  too  prone  to  look 
after  special  interests.  It  was,  therefore,  recommended 
that  it  be  replaced  by  a  board  of  street  commissioners 
(1869).  The  General  Court  passed  a  law  the  following 
year,  at  the  request  of  the  City  Council,  requiring  the 
election  of  three  men,  one  to  be  selected  annually,  who 
should  constitute  the  Board  of  Street  Commissioners. 
The  new  board  also  had  power  to  order  improvements 
to  the  value  of  not  exceeding  $25,000  in  any  one  year 
on  a  single  street.  To  place  such  enormous  respon- 
sibility in  a  board  which  was  independent  of  the 
administration  many  regarded  as  a  dangerous  expe- 
dient. Several  efforts  were  made  to  modify  the  act, 
and  the  powers  of  the  Street  Commissioners  were  sub- 
sequently controlled  to  some  extent,  so  that  they  no 
longer  dominated  the  entire  situation. 

The  pace  set  for  improvements  after  the  Great  Fire 
could  not  be  maintained  indefinitely.  As  Mayor  Cobb 
said,  it  was  "time  to  pause  for  a  while  in  this  magnifi- 
cent but  costly  career  of  street  widening  and  wait  for 
better  times."  But  in  1879  began  another  period  of 
expansion  in  street  work,  especially  in  the  suburbs. 
The  methods  pursued  in  the  outlying  districts  of  the 
city  were  the  same  that  had  made  improvements 
within  the  city  proper  so  expensive.  No  systematic 
plan  was  followed  looking  to  the  future;  streets  were 
laid  out  at  haphazard;  and  the  Street  Commissioners 
confined  themselves  largely  to  the  acceptance  or  rejec- 
tion of  private  ways  already  laid  out.     They  evidently 


Street  Betterment.  157 

did  not  think  of  planning  the  streets  with  due  regard 
to  the  growth  and  movement  of  the  population.  As 
the  Park  Commissioners  remarked,  "  The  growth  of 
Boston  from  its  infancy  (as  shown  in  its  streets)  has, 
until  within  a  very  few  years,  been  without  method 
and  dependent  chiefly  upon  the  individual  fancy  or 
convenience  of  property  owners  instead  of  being  regu- 
lated by  municipal  authorities."  Mayor  O'Brien  also 
voiced  his  sentiments  as  late  as  1888  by  saying  that 
during  the  previous  twenty-five  years  Boston  had  "ex- 
pended millions  of  dollars  for  widening  and  extending 
streets  that  could  have  been  saved  if  some  systematic 
plan  had  been  adopted."  The  Charter  Commission  of 
1885  had  demanded  a  "comprehensive  plan  of  pro- 
spective streets  and  ways  in  the  outlying  sections  of  the 
city,"  stating  that  for  lack  of  such  a  plan  "a  vast 
amount  of  property  in  buildings  has  been  destroyed  in 
the  change  of  street  lines  and  grades ' ' ;  but  it  was  not 
until  a  board  of  survey  was  established  in  1891  that 
Boston  began  systematic  street  work  in  the  suburbs. 
Meanwhile,  it  was  impossible  to  resist  for  long  the 
strong  demand  for  immediate  construction  of  streets 
already  laid  out.  The  retrenchment  had  gone  too  far, 
and  by  the  year  1890  the  expenditure  for  street  pur- 
poses suddenly  rose  and  continued  to  increase  until 
1897. 

Hitherto  streets  had  been  laid  out  generally  by  pri- 
vate owners,  subject  to  the  acceptance  or  rejection  by 
the  administration.  The  result  was  deplorable,  with- 
out system,  and  entailed  an  extraordinary  cost.  Mayor 
Matthews  had  set  his  face  against  additional  outlay  for 
street  purposes  until  a  better  plan  had  been  devised, 
and  it  was  at  his  instigation  that  the  legislature  passed 
an  Act  in  1891  for  the  appointment  of  a  board  of 
survey  by  the  Mayor,  subject  to  the  confirmation  of 
the  Aldermen.  The  board,  consisting  of  three  men, 
was  given  practically  free  hands  in  planning  street 
work.  Although  appointed  for  a  term  of  three  years, 
the  board  continued  until  1897.  The  Street  Commis- 
sioners, however,  were  not  to  lay  out  any  prospective 
streets  until  petitioned  to  do  so  by  a  majority  of  the 
owners  within  a  certain  distance  of  the  proposed  loca- 


158  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

tions,  or  until  authorized  by  the  City  Council.  The 
privilege  of  special  assessment  for  strict  betterment  was 
greatly  increased  by  this  act.  But  it  was  hardly  given 
a  fair  trial.  The  large  real  estate  owners  united  in 
bitter  opposition.  The  assessment  plan  ran  counter 
to  privileges  they  had  long  enjoyed.  They  were  able 
to  secure  several  amendments  to  the  act  which  reduced 
the  assessable  cost  in  various  ways.  The  Act  of  1891 
was  declared  unconstitutional  in  1892  by  the  Supreme 
Court,  with  a  consequent  loss  to  the  city  estimated  at 
forty  million  dollars.  Additional  legislation  was  sought 
but  did  not  benefit  Boston.  The  amounts  actually 
assessed  were  only  to  the  extent  of  the  supposed  benefit. 

In  spite  of  the  adverse  action  of  the  General  Court, 
Boston  had  to  go  on  with  the  long  delayed  street  im- 
provements. For  the  greater  part,  the  money  needed 
came  from  loans,  most  of  which  were  first  raised  out- 
side of  the  debt  limit.  Finally,  in  1906  the  General 
Court  passed  a  law  under  which  all  future  improvements 
should  be  paid  for  from  taxes  or  from  loans  within  the 
debt  limit  "except  those  ways  constructed  under  some 
special  act  in  which  a  contrary  provision  is  made." 
Under  these  circumstances,  Boston  was  seriously  handi- 
capped in  all  its  work  relating  to  streets.  Much  needed 
work  could  not  be  done ;  more  than  once  the  city  was 
obliged  to  allow  street  surfaces  to  wear  out  completely 
so  that  their  renewal  might  be  deemed  an  extraordinary 
expenditure  to  be  met,  under  the  law,  by  borrowing. 

To  place  the  entire  blame  for  the  costliness  and  un- 
systematic procedure  in  street  work  on  the  General 
Court  and  its  constant  interference  would  not  be 
wholly  fair.  The  city  administrations  were  frequently 
at  fault  through  wasteful  and  careless  methods.  Thus, 
the  custom  had  obtained  for  a  number  of  years  of  appro- 
priating money  for  construction  work  in  equal  sums  for 
the  different  wards,  regardless  of  actual  local  needs. 
Then,  too,  the  habit  of  granting  contracts  without 
competition  involved  at  times  a  great  extravagance. 
Finally,  the  Street  Department  as  late  as  in  1897  had 
hired  men  by  the  day  or  for  the  time  during  which 
their   services   were   needed.     The   force   had   always 


Street  Betterment.  159 

been  under  political  pressure,  especially  prior  to  the 
passage  of  the  civil  service  law  in  1884  and  the  charter 
reform  of  1885.  Mayor  Martin  had  said  on  this  sub- 
ject that  "the  loss  to  the  city  for  employment  of  un- 
skilled foremen  and  inefficient  workmen,  billeted  upon 
the  heads  of  the  departments,  cannot  be  measured  by 
the  current  expense  of  a  single  year." 

Mayor  O'Brien,  in  his  inaugural  of  1886,  expressed 
the  belief  that  the  Street  Department  was  no  longer 
a  political  machine,  but  that  politics  continued  to 
disturb  the  effectiveness  of  the  department  in  later 
years  cannot  be  doubted.  The  Finance  Commission 
went  so  far  in  1907  as  to  estimate  that  20  per  cent  of  the 
money  appropriated  for  streets  was  wasted  on  account 
of  lax  methods  of  administration. 

It  had  always  been  a  great  question  how  to  deal  with 
aged  employees  of  the  Street  Department.  Adequate 
relief  was  given  through  the  passage  of  the  law  of  191 1 
by  the  General  Court,  under  which  street  laborers,  in 
common  with  others  who  were  physically  incapaci- 
tated, may,  upon  request,  be  retired,  provided  they 
have  served  the  city  for  twenty-five  years,  on  a  pen- 
sion equal  to  one  half  of  their  pay  for  the  last  year  of 
their  services. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  early  days  the  care 
of  the  streets  was  entrusted  to  a  superintendent  acting 
under  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen.  He  was  superseded 
by  an  elective  board  of  street  commissioners  in  1870. 
The  Street  Commissioners  became  an  appointive  body 
under  the  Charter  of  1909,  and  are  still  known  by  their 
old  designation,  but  the  department  in  charge  is  offici- 
ally called  the  Street  Laying-Out  Department.  It  has 
the  power  to  lay  out,  alter  or  discontinue  by-ways,  to 
order  repairs  and  the  construction  of  sewers,  to  take 
lands,  etc.,  needed  for  construction.  It  always  levies 
the  betterment  assessments  and  makes  award  of  dam- 
ages. This  board,  therefore,  takes  the  place  of  the 
Board  of  Survey,  which  was  discontinued  in  1895. 
It  also  licenses  street  stands  for  the  sale  of  merchandise 
and  may  grant  or  withhold  permits  for  the  erection 
of  garages,  or  make  rules  relating  to  projections  over 


i6g  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

public  highways.  It  may  further  name  streets  and 
perform  various  other  duties  too  numerous  to  men- 
tion. But  the  active  work  of  constructing  and  main- 
taining all  public  streets,  together  with  other  authority, 
has  been  transferred  to  the  Highway  Division  under 
the  Public  Works  Department,  which  was  established 
through  the  consolidation  of  different  departments  in 
1911. 


Sewer  Improvements.  I/161 


SEWER   IMPROVEMENTS. 


L/In  the  days  of  the  town,  the  sewers  in  Boston  were 
built  and  maintained  by  private  individuals.  It  was 
an  extremely  primitive  system  for  a  place  having  more 
than  forty  thousand  inhabitants  and  frequently  a 
serious  detriment  to  public  health.  Moreover,  while  it 
prevailed,  the  city  had  difficulty  in  exercising  proper 
control  of  the  streets,  and  there  were  frequent  disputes 
between  the  owners  of  main  sewers  and  those  who 
wished  to  make  new  entries.  This  system  could  not 
last,  and  already  in  1823  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  were 
authorized  to  construct  all  common  sewers  and  to 
assess  the  residents  who  wished  to  connect  with  them. 
The  sewers  were  municipalized  with  great  success. 
The  city  spent  large  sums  for  better  drainage,  and 
greater  efficiency  was  secured  by  the  appointment,  in 
^1837,  of  a  Superintendent  of  Sewers.  Previously  the 
work  had  been  in  charge  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Streets. 

As  the  city  gradually  acquired  more  and  more  land, 
the  provision  for  sewer  construction  grew  in  propor- 
tion. It  was  "especially  desirable  to  get  an  adequate 
outlet  for  the  receiving  basin  on  Back  Bay  which  had 
come  to  be  used  as  a  cesspool."  After  much  discus- 
sion, a  large  sewer  was  constructed  to  enter  the  South 
Bay  at  Dover  street.  It  was  built  between  1850  and 
1852,  but  proved  inadequate.  Whenever  rain  set  in, 
water  would  flood  the  cellars,  and  the  low  level  pre- 
vented a  discharge  into  the  harbor  except  for  a  few 
hours  a  day.  The  building  of  a  new  sewer  on  Dedham 
street  in  1857  did  not  bring  the  expected  relief.  Threats 
of  heavy  expenses  for  damages  gave  an  impetus  to  the 
great  undertaking  of  raising  the  level  of  many  of  the 
city  lands.  Then,  too,  the  increase  in  mortality  was  so 
great  on  account  of  defective  sewers  that  the  city 
physician  advocated  having  all  drains  taken  over  by 
the  municipality;  he  especially  pointed  out  the  danger 
from  sewers  emptying  into  shore  waters  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  docks. 


162  1S22  —  Boston  —  1922. 

A  further  improvement  was  made  in  186-5  by  build- 
ing outlet  sewers  at  South  and  East  Boston  and  from 
the  Back  Bay  territory.  The  Boston  Water  Power 
Company  contributed  $50,000  to  the  cost  of  the  Back 
Bay  sewer,  and  the  Commonwealth  equipped  its  terri- 
tory in  the  Back  Bay  with  sewers.  When  Roxbury 
was  annexed  in  1868,  the  cost  of  the  Sewer  Depart- 
ment doubled;  and  by  1873  it  had  reached  the  sum  of 
about  $228,000  a  year.  Still  Boston  was  not  safe  from 
danger  through  the  sewers  which  emptied  into  tide 
water  on  every  side  of  the  city.  The  Board  of  Health 
again  called  attention  to  the  need  of  a  better  system 
and  attributed  the  prevalence  of  summer  diseases  to  the 
lack  of  it. 

Finally,  the  City  Council  appointed  a  commission  to 
investigate  the  whole  subject.  In  its  presentation,  im- 
mediate action  was  called  for,  and  plans  were  proposed 
for  a  new  system  of  sewers.  It  was  shown  that  the 
death  rate  had  not  been  excessive  until  the  discharge 
of  the  sewage  became  a  menace  to  the  growing  popu- 
lation. There  were  thirty-two  independent  drainage 
districts  in  the  city  proper,  with  as  many  separate  out- 
lets. To  mend  the  condition,  the  system  of  intercept- 
ing sewers  around  the  borders  of  the  city  was  recom- 
mended, which  were  to  empty  into  a  main  sewer  dis- 
charging to  a  pumping  station  at  Dorchester;  then  it 
was  to  be  brought  across  the  bay  to  Moon  Island, 
whence  it  could  be  discharged  into  the  lower  harbor. 
To  make  surveys  and  estimates  for  this  undertaking, 
the  sum  of  $40,000  was  appropriated,  and  in  1877  the 
undertaking  itself  was  financed,  the  appropriation  being 
$713,000.  The  new  work  had  been  authorized  by  the 
General  Court  in  1876;  construction  began  in  1877  and 
was  practically  finished  by  the  end  of  1884,  at  a  cost 
of  about  five  million  dollars,  the  excess  over  the  orig- 
inal estimates  being  due  to  the  rise  in  cost  of  materials 
and  labor.  The  benefit  to  the  city  was  immediate;  the 
death  rate  diminished;  the  waters  at  the  docks  were 
no  longer  polluted ;  the  offensive  odors  had  disappeared ; 
and  the  cellars  were  no  longer  periodically  flooded. 

Another  problem  was  that  of  preventing  the  nuisance 
connected  with  Stony  Brook  which  for  a  long  time  had 


Sewer  Improvements.  163 

discharged  the  sewage  of  the  Roxbury  district  into 
the  Charles  River  by  way  of  the  Back  Bay  flats.  The 
construction  of  intercepting  sewers  stopped  this  nui- 
sance, but  it  required  an  extraordinary  expenditure 
to  prevent  Stony  Brook  from  endangering  the  surround- 
ing territory  by  periodic  overflows.  The  city  of  Rox- 
bury as  well  as  the  town  of  West  Roxbury  had  experi- 
mented with  improvement  of  Stony  Brook  quite  unsuc- 
cessfully. At  last  Boston  took  a  hand,  and  when, 
finally,  the  necessary  improvements  had  been  made, 
they  had  cost  the  city  $370,000.  It  looked  as  if  the 
work  had  been  successfully  done,  but  when  a  freshet  of 
unusual  magnitude  occurred  in  1886,  the  city  was  made 
defendant  in  many  damage  suits.  Mayor  O'Brien 
regarded  the  money  spent  on  Stony  Brook  as  being 
largely  wasted  and  called  the  work,  "a  most  faulty 
piece  of  engineering." 

To  meet  the  emergency,  the  construction  of  a  new 
channel  was  recommended,  to  be  continued  at  a  later 
time  as  far  as  West  Roxbury.  All  in  all,  the  work  pro- 
jected called  for  an  expenditure  in  excess  of  two  million 
dollars;  but  when  the  improvement  had  been  con- 
tinued as  far  as  to  Jamaica  Plain  station,  Stony  Brook 
had  cost  the  city  two  million  and  a  half  dollars. 

For  general  expenditures  the  Sewer  Department  had 
a  very  limited  amount  of  money  at  its  disposition  until 
1897.  In  consequence,  the  city  could  not  deal  ade- 
quately with  the  ever-pressing  sewerage  problem. 
The  discontent  with  the  situation  resulted  in  efforts  to 
have  the  General  Court  transfer  the  entire  control  of 
the  sewer  work  to  the  newly  created  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Sewerage  Commissioners,  on  the  ground  that 
the  city  had  proved  incapable  of  managing  its  own 
system.  The  administration  was  thus  compelled  to 
investigate  anew  what  could  and  should  be  done,  and 
subsequently  (1897)  secured  the  passage  of  an  act 
granting  the  city  permission  to  issue  bonds  for  sewer 
work  outside  the  debt  limit  to  the  amount  of  $1,000,000 
a  year.  During  the  twelve  years  following  this  loan, 
the  expenditures  for  sewers,  including  the  Metropol- 
itan assessments,  amounted  to  about  twenty  million 
dollars,  but  two-thirds  of  it  was  obtained  by  loans. 


164  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  questions  with  which  the 
Sewer  Department  had  to  deal  was  that  of  surface 
water,  wThich  could  not  be  carried  off  by  existing  drains 
in  periods  of  heavy  rains.  The  overflow  to  a  large 
extent  was  carried  into  the  harbor  and  constituted  a 
formidable  menace  to  public  health.  Many  cities  had 
adopted  the  plan  of  installing  an  entirely  separate  sys- 
tem for  carrying  off  surface  water,  and  Boston  was 
compelled  to  follow  their  example.  By  means  of 
this  system  surface  drainage  could  be  discharged  into 
the  harbor  without  polluting  it,  and  the  strain  of  the 
regular  sewerage  system  lessened.  There  was  one 
special  reason  for  resorting  to  this  expedient,  namely, 
the  improvements  relating  to  the  Charles  River.  A 
new  basin  had  been  provided  for,  and  it  was  essential  to 
exclude  sewage  from  it.  Since  the  Metropolitan 
Sewerage  System  was  to  include  the  drainage  district 
of  the  Charles  River,  the  city  was  obliged  to  expend  a 
great  deal  of  money  for  a  separate  system  of  sewerage 
in  the  Charles  River  Basin  district. 

The  Metropolitan  sewerage  district,  whose  assess- 
ments increased  expenditures  for  sewers  in  Boston,  was 
established  in  1889  and  placed  in  charge  of  a  commis- 
sion of  three  men,  appointed  by  the  Governor,  who  had 
the  task  of  building  and  maintaining  the  sewers  within 
the  district.  This  board  was  later  merged  with  the 
water  board.  One  part  of  the  district  to  be  served  by 
metropolitan  sewers  contained  cities  and  towns  north 
of  the  Charles  River  and  parts  of  Boston.  The  other 
contained  cities  and  towns  principally  to  the  south  of 
the  Charles  River  and  parts  of  Boston.  Later  on,  a 
third  system  was  added,  the  so-called  Neponset  Valley 
system,  which  also  included  a  part  of  Boston.  With- 
out attempting  to  describe  in  detail  the  alterations  and 
cost  of  the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  System,  it  will  suffice 
to  say  that  Boston's  share  of  the  Metropolitan  sewer 
debt  in  1920  was  over  four  million  dollars.  The  Metro- 
politan assessment  on  Boston  for  sewers  amounts  to 
over  $400,000  annually,  exclusive  of  the  assessment  on 
account  of  the  Charles  River  Basin. 


Street  Lighting.  165 


STREET   LIGHTING. 


A  hundred  years  ago  the  question  of  lighting  the 
new  city  of  Boston  apparently  did  not  worry  the 
municipal  authorities  very  greatly.  Oil  was  the  prin- 
cipal source  of  light  in  the  old  days,  and  from  time  to 
time  there  was  some  trouble  about  the  price  to  be  paid 
for  it.  The  city  was,  of  course,  badly  lighted,  so  that 
it  became  necessary,  periodically,  to  increase  the  num- 
ber of  lamps.  A  committee  charged  with  the  study  of 
the  lighting  question  reported  in  1834  that  the  "lamps 
were  very  ill  distributed  and  gave  a  feeble  light. ";  It 
recommended  that  gas  be  substituted  for  oil.  This  was 
done  and  effected  a  small  saving  as  well  as  better  light- 
ing, but  the  change  had  to  be  brought  about  gradually. 
Even  as  late  as  in  1840,  the  city  paid  about  equal 
amounts  for  oil  and  gas  consumed  in  street  lighting. 
When  a  decade  had  passed  (1851),  there  were  still  more 
oil  lamps  than  gas  lamps  in  use;  but  two  years  later  the 
gas  lamps  finally  gained  ascendency.  People  were  slow 
in  taking  advantage  of  the  use  of  gas,  for  already  in  1823 
a  company  had  been  formed  to  supply  gas  for  street 
lighting.  Under  Mayor  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  the  ques- 
tion arose  whether  the  city  should  take  over  the  owner- 
ship of  the  gas  works.  He  distinctly  stated  that  the 
gas  works,  which  enjoyed  a  monopoly  in  the  city,  had 
been  conducted  "in  a  manner  entirely  satisfactory  to 
the  public,"  but  he  hinted  at  the  undesirability  of  giving 
up  a  partial  control  of  the  streets.  There  the  question 
of  municipal  ownership  of  gas  works  rested  for  the  time 
being. 

As  the  city  grew,  the  expenditures  for  lighting  neces- 
sarily increased  in  proportion.  4n  1830,  Boston  was 
lighted  at  an  annual  expense  of  about  $15,000,  but  by 
1873  the  amount  had  grown  to  nearly  $400,000  per 
annum.  The  available  land  within  the  city  limits  had 
become  more  and  more  built  up,  the  annexed  terri- 
tories had  their  needs,  and  there  was  a  general  demand 
for  a  better  lighting  service.     It  seems  curious  to  us  of 


i66  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

the  present  time  that  a  city  committee  of  1865  should 
state  that  the  citizens  could  no  longer  content  them- 
selves with  the  service  which  had  satisfied  Boston  as  a 
town,  but  demanded  that  "the  streets  should  be  lighted 
throughout  every  night  of  the  year."  An  order  to 
extend  the  time  for  street  lighting  was  passed  by  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  the  next  year,  but  the  Common 
Council  refused  to  concur.  In  1867,  however,  the 
lamps  were  kept  burning  at  night  during  the  winter 
months. 

The  entire  work  connected  with  lighting  and  caring 
for  the  street  lamps  had  been  let  by  contract  until  1868, 
when  it  was  placed  under  the  superintendent  of  the 
Lighting  Department.  The  question  of  the  municipal 
ownership  of  gas  again  came  to  the  fore.  There  was 
distinct  objection  to  having  gas  sold  to  the  city  at  a 
profit  and  to  permit  the  manufacture  of  it  by  private 
corporations.  But  the  cost  of  material  and  labor  stood 
in  the  way  of  taking  decisive  steps.  Yet  the  question 
of  establishing  a  municipal  gas  plant  continued  to  be 
agitated.  There  was  a  general  dissatisfaction  with  the 
price  of  gas  among  the  consumers.  Mayor  Cobb  men- 
tioned this  in  1875;  but  he  would  rather  regulate  the 
price  of  gas  than  have  it  manufactured  by  the  munic- 
ipality. The  upshot  was  the  appointment  of  a  special 
commission  which  reported  in  favor  of  having  a  single 
company  in  Boston  distribute  gas  and  concluded 
that  the  Boston  Gas  Light  Company  offered  its 
commodity  for  a  lower  price  than  obtained  in  most 
American  cities,  considering  the  quality  of  the  gas. 
The  committee  would,  however,  have  the  City  Council 
seek  authority  to  erect  separate  gas  works  as  a  means 
of  bringing  the  private  company  to  better  terms! 
The  impression  was  and  remained  that  the  city  paid 
too  much  for  street  lighting.  As  a  result,  lighting 
contracts  were  constantly  lowered,  but  probably  not 
in  proportion  to  the  decrease  in  the  cost  of  manufac- 
ture; and  the  administrations  were  persistently  called 
upon  to  consider  the  alternative  of  a  municipal  lighting 
plant.  A  legislative  act  of  1891  gave  cities  and  towns 
permission  to  manufacture  gas  or  electricity  for  their 
own  use  and  for  private  distribution,  but  it  required 


Street  Lighting.  167 

an  affirmative  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  of 
the  City  Council,  the  approval  of  a  Mayor  in  two 
consecutive  years,  and  a  referendum  to  the  voters 
before  a  municipal  gas  or  electric  lighting  plant  could 
be  established. 

Had  the  question  been  solely  of  permitting  the  city 
to  establish  a  plant  for  its  own  use,  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  it  might  have  been  adopted;  but  the  neces- 
sary legislative  changes  were  not  secured.  A  com- 
mittee of  1896  reported  against  municipal  lighting. 
There  was  also  an  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the  best 
methods  of  street  lighting  owing  to  constant  improve- 
ment through  new  inventions.  So  the  city  contented 
itself  with  experimenting  with  different  kinds  of  lights, 
and  the  question  of  establishing  municipal  ownership 
in  this  respect  is  still  in  abeyance. 

Turning  again  to  the  question  of  lighting  with  the 
means  at  hand,  one  may  note  the  constant  outcry 
against  the  cost.  Mayor  Prince,  in  1879,  complained 
that  the  expenditure  was  greater  in  Boston  "than  that 
of  any  other  city  of  its  size  in  the  country."  He  re- 
duced the  cost  by  substituting  three-foot  burners  for 
the  four-foot  burners,  but  the  result  was  inferior  service. 
The  four-foot  burner  was  restored,  and  a  slight  relief 
gained  through  a  reduction  in  the  price  of  .gas.  Yet  the 
amount  expended  for  lighting  purposes  was  less  than 
$400,000  a  year  at  the  time,  and  by  1886  had  only  in- 
creased to  $524,000.  In  the  meantime,  wooden  lamp 
posts  had  replaced  those  formerly  made  of  iron;  and 
in  1882  the  city  had  begun  experimenting  with  electric 
lights,  which  at  first  proved  a  very  expensive  luxury, 
though  they  gave  a  better  service.  The  substitution  of 
the  electric  arc  light  for  the  gas  lamp  and  of  improved 
gas  lamps  are  matters  of  recent  date.  The  city  might 
be  said  still  to  be  experimenting  with  both. 

The  lighting  service  is  in  charge  of  the  Highway  Divi- 
sion of  the  Public  Works  Department.  The  cost  of 
street  lighting  in  1920  was  $499,392  for  electric  lights 
and  $206,474  for  gas  lights. 


i6S  1822 —  Boston — 1922. 


RAPID   TRANSIT. 


The  congestion  in  the  narrow  streets  of  Boston  was  so 
acute  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighties  that  some  means 
of  remedy  became  imperative.  Suggestions  of  all  kinds 
to  provide  relief  were  made ;  but  the  plan  receiving  the 
greatest  public  favor  was  to  build  an  elevated  railroad 
and  a  subway.  Financial  interests  took  up  the  ques- 
tion and  fought  for  the  privilege  of  controlling  the  situ- 
ation. The  West  End  Street  Railway  Company  had 
received  authority  from  the  General  Court  to  build  a 
subway,  but  neglected  to  take  advantage  of  it.  Other 
interests  sought  a  charter  for  a  combined  subway  and 
elevated  railroad.  The  West  End  Company  obtained 
a  charter  for  an  elevated  railroad  in  1890,  but  once  more 
hesitated  to  build  because  of  the  great  cost  of  the  under- 
taking. 

It  became  evident  that  little  was  to  be  hoped  for 
from  these  unpleasant  struggles  between  opposing  finan- 
cial interests,  and  so  the  city  itself  took  a  hand.  Mayor 
Matthews,  in  his  first  inaugural,  had  recommended  the 
establishment  of  a  commission  of  experts,  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  him,  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  the 
entire  situation.  An  order  providing  for  such  a  com- 
mission was  readily  obtained,  and  later  in  the  year  it 
was  enlarged  by  adding  to  it  members  appointed  by 
the  Governor.  The  commission  in  its  report,  made  in 
1892,  recommended  that  an  elevated  railroad  be  built 
from  the  city  to  the  suburbs  and  a  subway  in  the  busi- 
ness center.  The  General  Court  passed  two  measures; 
one  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  commission  by 
the  Governor,  to  be  known  as  the  Metropolitan  Transit 
Commission,  with  authority  to  take  the  necessary  land 
through  the  center  of  the  city,  from  Causeway  street  to 
Franklin  Park,  for  the  use  of  subways  and  elevated 
roads  as  the  commission  should  see  fit,  and  provided 
that  the  commission  might  authorize  the  West  End 
Company  to  build  a  subway  for  its  street  railway  tracks. 


Rapid  Transit.  169 

Bids  for  the  right  to  construct  and  operate  an  elevated 
road  for  a  term  not  exceeding  fifteen  years  were  to  be 
invited.  The  railroad  should  become  the  property  of 
the  city  at  the  end  of  this  period,  or,  in  case  bids  were 
not  accepted,  the  commission  itself,  with  the  approval 
of  the  City  Council,  might  build  the  elevated  road  and 
turn  it  over  to  the  city.  This  act  was  referred  to  the 
voters  of  Boston  and  rejected  by  a  small  majority. 

The  alternative  presented  by  the  General  Court 
called  for  the  appointment  by  the  Mayor  of  three  com- 
missioners, to  be  known  as  the  Board  of  Subway  Com- 
missioners, with  authority  to  build  a  subway  for  street 
railway  purposes  from  Tremont  and  Pleasant  streets 
to  Scollay  square.  It  would  also  have  power  to  com- 
pel the  street  cars  of  any  line  to  be  run  through  the 
proposed  subway.  This  measure  was  adopted  by  the 
city;  and  as  the  municipal  administration  was  at  the 
same  time  authorized  to  issue  bonds  to  a  value  not 
exceeding  two  million  dollars  for  the  new  construction, 
Boston  thereby  adopted  a  policy  of  keeping  the  sub- 
ways within  the  city  in  its  possession  and  embarked 
upon  a  new  experiment  in  municipal  ownership. 

Thus  a  small  beginning  had  been  made  to  meet  the 
ever-growing  congestion;  but  in  the  meantime  the  re- 
quirements of  the  city  became  more  and  more  pressing. 
However,  the  solution  of  the  rapid  transit  problem  was 
not  to  be  decided  by  the  city  government.  The  Gen- 
eral Court  took  up  the  cause,  and  Governor  Green- 
halge  said  in  his  inaugural  of  1894,  "Should  the  Legis- 
lature of  1894  succeed  in  solving  this  great  problem  by 
practical  legislation,  it  will  have  earned  for  itself  an 
enviable  record  in  this  great  Commonwealth  where  so 
much  has  been  accomplished  for  the  comfort  and  con- 
venience of  its  citizens." 

A  very  comprehensive  plan  for  rapid  transit  was 
evolved  by  the  legislature  of  that  year  through  an  act 
which  incorporated  the  Boston  Elevated  Railway  Com- 
pany and  gave  it  the  right  to  build  an  elevated  road  in 
Boston  and  vicinity,  with  the  power  to  "lease,  pur- 
chase, run  and  operate  any  lines  of  street  or  elevated 
railway  which  may  be  or  become  tributary  to  its  lines." 
But  no  lease  or  purchase  was  to  be  made  without  the 


170  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

approval  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners.  This  act 
marked  the  beginning  of  the  consolidated  system  of  the 
Boston  Elevated  Railway  Company. 

For  the  purpose  of  building  a  subway  in  Boston,  the 
Governor  was  to  appoint  "two  discreet  persons"  who, 
together  with  the  three  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
Mayor  of  Boston,  should  constitute  the  Boston  Transit 
Commission.  The  commission  was  empowered  to  build 
the  Tremont  Street  Subway,  the  East  Boston  Tunnel, 
and  the  Charlestown  Bridge.  It  also  had  executive 
authority  in  regard  to  the  removal  of  car  tracks  from 
the  different  streets. 

On  September  3,  1898,  the  subway  from  Shawmut 
avenue  and  Tremont  street  to  the  North  Station  was 
opened.  Mayor  Quincy  said  that  it  "fully  answered 
the  expectations  of  its  advocates.  It  has  at  least 
assisted  very  materially  in  the  problem  of  rapid  tran- 
sit for  passengers  through  the  central  part  of  the  city." 

The  next  big  undertaking  was  the  construction  of  "the 
tunnel  to  East  Boston.  The  work  was  not  to  be  begun 
until  the  Boston  Elevated  had  been  authorized  to  begin 
the  building  of  its  railroad.  The  tunnel  was  to  be 
constructed  by  the  Transit  Commission  and  leased  to 
the  Boston  Elevated.  It  was  completed  and  opened  to 
traffic  in  December  of  1904  after  vexatious  delays 
caused  by  legal  considerations. 

Already  previous  to  the  completion  of  the  East  Bos- 
ton Tunnel,  that  of  Washington  Street  had  been  pro- 
vided for.  The  legislative  act  authorizing  this  sub- 
way the  voters  accepted  by  a  large  majority.  The 
Washington  Street  Tunnel  was  completed  in  1908  and 
leased  to  the  Boston  Elevated  for  the  use  of  its  trains. 

The  Cambridge  Subway,  from  Park  street  to  Grove 
street,  near  the  Cambridge  Bridge,  was  opened  in  1912. 
The  Boylston  Street  Subway,  connecting  with  the 
Tremont  Street  Subway,  was  completed  in  19 14.  The 
Dorchester  Tunnel,  from  Park  street  to  South  Boston, 
was  opened  in  19 16  as  far  as  the  South  Station;  in 
19 1 7,  to  Broadway,  South  Boston,  and  in  191 8  to  its 
terminal,  in  Andrew  square. 

The  total  cost  of  all  subways  and  tunnels,  includ- 
ing   several    connections    and    spurs    not    enumerated 


Rapid  Transit.  171 

above,  was  about  $36,995,000,  against  which  a  sinking" 
fund  of  nearly  six  million  dollars  had  been  accumulated 
from  the  revenue,  and  payable  in  forty  years  from  the^ 
date  of  each  loan. 

All  these  underground  ways,  to  the  total  extent  of 
about  eight  miles  in  all,  were  leased  to  the  Boston  Ele- 
vated Railway  Company  for  a  term  of  twenty-five 
years  (the  Tremont  Street  Subway,  for  twenty  years), 
at  an  annual  rental  of  4  J  to  4!  per  cent  of  the  net 
cost,  except  the  East  Boston  Tunnel  rental  which  was 
at  three  eighths  of  1  per  cent  of  the  annual  gross  re- 
ceipts. In  191 1  the  leases  were  extended  to  July  1, 
1936,  at  a  rental  of  4!  per  cent  of  net  cost  after  the  first 
term  leases  had  expired. 

The  Boston  Transit  Commission  ended  its  official  life 
in  191 8  after  the  original  term  had  been  extended  seven 
times.  At  the  same  time  all  the  powers  of  the  Transit 
Commission  were  transferred  to  the  Mayor,  Commis- 
sioner of  Public  Works  and  City  Treasurer,  or  such 
persons  as  the  Mayor  might  appoint.  Finally,  in  the 
same  year,  the  Transit  Department  was  established  as  a 
regular  city  department,  to  be  in  charge  of  three  com- 
missioners appointed  by  the  Mayor. 

Boston,  by  building  the  so-called  Tremont  Street 
Subway,  became  the  owner  of  the  first,  municipal  sub- 
way in  the  United  States,  and  thereby  embarked  upon 
an  enterprise  which  is  not  yet  completed,  for  the  con- 
gestion still  continues,  growing  with  the  increase  in 
population  and  the  multiplication  of  the  ubiquitous 
automobile;  but  it  can  at  least  be  said  the  policy  fol- 
lowed in  order  to  cure  congestion  has  been  an  en- 
lightened one  and  faithfully  administered  by  those  in 
charged 


172  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 


THE   FERRY   SERVICE. 


Mayor  Matthews  declared  flatly  in  his  valedictory 
address  that  Boston's  experiment  in  ownership  of  the 
Ferry  Service  had  been  a  failure.  The  city  began  it  in 
1858-59  by  buying  the  docks  and  approaches  of  two 
ferry  companies  operating  between  East  Boston  and 
the  city.  The  transaction  was  really  in  the  nature  of 
subsidy  to  the  companies  which  could  not  make  the 
returns  allowed  by  their  charters  without  charging  high 
rates.  East  Boston  had  at  that  time  about  20,000 
inhabitants  who  were  much  dissatisfied  with  the  high 
cost  of  transportation. 

In  return  for  the  purchase  by  Boston  of  their  wharves 
and  approaches,  the  ferry  companies  agreed  to  accept  a 
schedule  of  tolls  to  be  fixed  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen. 
The  property  was  bought  at  a  low  valuation  and  leased 
to  the  companies,  with  the  proviso  that  the  latter  keep 
them  in  repair.  The  plan  was  not  successful ;  the  com- 
panies showed  annual  deficits,  and  raised  their  tolls 
beyond  previous  figures,  although  for  a  brief  period 
they  lived  up  to  their  agreement  with  the  city.  Later 
they  paid  no  attention  whatever  to  the  schedule  of 
tolls  established  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen. 

One  of  the  companies  (The  Peoples'  Ferry  Com- 
pany) found  that  it  could  not  go  on  even  with  further 
subsidy  from  the  city,  and  was  forced  to  liquidate. 
This  left  only  one  ferry  operated  by  the  East  Boston 
Company,  but  it  had  added  so  greatly  to  its  capacity 
that  for  a  while  it  seemed  as  if  the  requirements  of  the 
city  might  be  met.  Mayor  Norcross  said  publicly 
that  the  troublesome  ferry  question  had  at  last  been 
settled.  The  company  had  agreed  to  operate  a  second 
ferry,  utilizing  the  old  slips  of  the  Peoples'  Ferry  Com- 
pany, provided  the  city  would  put  them  in  repair. 
The  city  did  so,  leasing  the  approaches  and  slips  to  the 
East  Boston  Ferry  Company  for  a  small  sum  (1868). 
But  from  the  end  of  this  year  the  company  demanded 


The  Ferry  Service.  173 

an  increase  in  its  traffic  tolls  and  actually  obtained  it  by 
resorting  to  legal  pressure.  Thus  Mayor  Norcross' 
prediction  was  disappointed,  and  his  successor,  Mayor 
Shurtleff,  asked  for  municipal  ownership  of  the  ferries 
on  the  petition  of  many  citizens,  including  large  busi- 
ness firms  in  all  parts  of  Boston.  The  General  Court 
authorized  the  city  to  buy  out  the  East  Boston  Ferry 
Company,  and  in  1870,  on  the  payment  of  $275,000,  the 
city  became  the  owner  of  the  East  Boston  ferries.  The 
property  was  not  in  good  condition  and  cost  much  for 
upkeep. 

The  new  experiment  in  public  ownership  showed  con- 
tinued deficits.  Hitherto  the  ferries  had  been  operated 
under  a  board  of  directors  consisting  of  five  members 
against  which  charges  of  incompetence  and  misman- 
agement were  freely  made.  An  investigation  by  a 
city  committee  sustained  the  charges  so  far  as  to  say 
that  the  administration  of  the  ferries  had  been  careless 
and  wasteful  because  it  lacked  a  responsible  head. 
Mayor  O'Brien  (1886)  would  abolish  the  Board  of 
Directors  and  placed  the  ferries  under  a  superintendent. 
The  City  Council  refused  to  concur,  and  the  Mayor  was 
compelled  to  appoint  a  new  board.  At  a  large  outlay, 
the  inadequate  ferry  service  was  improved  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighties. 

In  1 89 1,  the  Board  of  Directors  was  finally  supplanted 
by  a  superintendent.  Four  years  later  the  department 
of  ferries  was  abolished  and  their  management  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Superintendent  of  Streets.  Upon  the 
establishment  of  the  Public  Works  Department,  it  took 
over  the  ferry  system.  Boston  now  owns  and  operates 
two  ferry  lines, —  the  South  Ferry  and  the  North  Ferry, 
■ — -and  maintains  seven  steam  ferryboats;  two  built 
of  steel  were  placed  in  commission  in  1921. 

There  has  been  much  agitation  for  a  free  ferry  serv- 
ice. The  city  has  stuck  to  the  policy  of  maintaining 
the  ferry  service  for  public  convenience  rather  than  for 
gain.  By  1904,  the  foot  passengers  on  the  ferry  were 
carried  at  the  rate  of  1  cent  for  transportation  and  other 
charges  were  cut  in  proportion.  But  when  the  East 
Boston  Tunnel  was  completed,  the  patrons  of  the 
North  Ferry  diminished  to  about  two  thirds  of  their 


174  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

former  number,  while  the  much  less  important  South 
Ferry  continued  to  carry  as  many  passengers  as  before. 
The  total  deficits  on  account  of  the  ferry  system  since 
1858  have  been  continuous,  running  from  $39,000  in 
1899,  the  lowest  figures,  to  $738,636  in  1920-21.  A 
large  part  of  the  last  mentioned  sum  was  due  to  new 
construction  and  repairs. 


Bridges.  175 


BRIDGES. 


The  important  place  of  bridges  in  the  annual  budget 
of  the  City  of  Boston  may  be  gathered  from  the  number 
of  brid.ges  owned  wholly  or  in  part  by  the  municipality. 
Those  maintained  wholly  by  Boston  number  sixty-two 
and  those  partly  maintained  by  the  city  forty-nine, 
i/ There  were  no  public  bridges  until  1828,  when  an 
appropriation  was  made  to  complete  the  bridge  to 
South  Boston,  which  had  been  partially  constructed  by 
owners  of  land  across  the  channel.  The  city  paid 
$3,500  for  this  new  venture,  and  it  cost  an  equal  amount 
to  put  it  in  order.  Except  for  the  care  of  a  few  small 
bridges,  there  was  no  important  construction  until 
1856,  when  the  Albany  Street  Bridge  to  South  Boston 
was  begun.  It  cost  $80,000  before  it  was  opened;  at 
the  same  time,  large  sums  were  paid  for  the  acquisition 
of  the  East  Boston  free  bridge. 

Between  1870-73,  a  bridge  on  Mt.  Washington 
avenue  was  undertaken,  and  two  iron  bridges  were 
constructed  over  the  railroad  tracks  in  the  Back  Bay. 
South  Boston,  which  had  hitherto  received  a  large  part 
of  the  benefit  of  the  expenditure  for  bridges,  continued 
to  be  accommodated,  for  in  1874-75  the  Broadway 
Bridge  was  rebuilt  and  the  so-called  Eastern  Avenue 
Bridge  constructed.  At  the  same  time,  a  new  Cam- 
bridge bridge  was  called  for  between  West  Boston  and 
the  Cottage  Farm  bridges.  Mayor  O'Brien  urged  this 
project,  and  the  act  authorizing  it  provided  that  the 
cost  should  be  borne  equally  by  Boston  and  Cambridge, 
but  Boston  delayed  doing  its  share  until  the  end  of  the 
eighties. 

The  bridge  service  continued  to  be  inadequate,  for  it 
was  not  only  necessary  to  replace  the  old  wooden  struc- 
tures by  modern  ones  but  to  build  new  bridges. 

The  first  great  bridge  to  be  opened  was  Harvard 
Bridge  over  the  Charles  river,  the  cost  as  well  as  the 
maintenance   to   be   divided   between   the   two   cities. 


176  i§22 — Boston — 1922. 

Boston  paid  $260,000  for  its  share,  practically  all  of 
which  was  met  by  a  loan  outside  the  debt  limit.  The 
Charlestown  Bridge,  to  be  used  by  the  Boston  Elevated 
Railroad,  was  built  between  1896-99  by  the  Boston 
Transit  Commission,  at  a  cost  of  a  million  and  a  half 
dollars.  Hitherto  nearly  all  the  bridges  constructed 
under  the  authority  of  the  city  were  noted  for  their 
ugliness  as  well  as  for  their  serviceableness ;  the  only 
exception  being  the  West  Boston  Bridge  over  the 
Charles  river  to  Cambridge,  which  replaced  the  old 
structure ;  it  combines  beauty  with  the  greatest  amount 
of  usefulness.  Since  it  was  constructed  in  order  that 
the  Boston  Elevated  Company  might  run  its  subway 
trains  across  it,  the  company  had  to  pay  its  propor- 
tionate share  of  the  cost,  besides  paying  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  railroad,  both  elevated  and  surface, 
across  the  bridge.  This  magnificent  piece  of  engineer- 
ing was  completed  under  a  commission  consisting  of 
the  mayors  of  Boston  and  Cambridge  and  a  third  per- 
son appointed  by  them.  Boston's  share  of  the  cost 
was  about  a  million  and  a  half  dollars,  met  by  a  loan 
outside  the  debt  limit. 


Public  Markets.  177 


PUBLIC   MARKETS. 


When  Boston  was  a  town  it  made  a  number  of  at- 
tempts to  reduce  the  cost  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  both 
by  maintaining  public  markets  and  by  seeking  to  regu- 
late prices.  Since  it  became  a  city,  it  has  attempted 
little  and  accomplished  less  toward  lowering  the  cost 
of  living  within  its  borders. 

Generally  speaking,  Boston  has  always  had  a  system 
of  public  markets  erected  in  different  parts  of  the  city. 
The  principal  market  was  the  one  at  the  head  of  Town 
Dock,  where  Peter  Faneuil  offered  to  build  a  market 
house,  (1740)  provided  the  town  would  maintain  it. 
The  town  accepted  the  offer  somewhat  grudgingly,  the 
building  was  named  after  the  donor,  and  has  since 
become  of  historic  fame.  After  its  destruction  by  fire, 
before  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  it  was  rebuilt  and 
added  to.  When  the  so-called  "New"  Faneuil  Hall 
Market,  better  known  as  the  Quincy  Market,  was 
opened  in  1826,  the  stalls  under  Faneuil  Hall  were  dis- 
continued many  years  and  were  not  reopened  for  market 
purposes  until  1858. 

The  first  Mayor  Quincy  evolved  the  scheme  of  build- 
ing what  was  officially  known  as  the  Faneuil  Hall  Ex- 
tension, but  popularly  called  the  Quincy  Market.  He 
labored  steadily  on  the  project  in  the  face  of  a  deter- 
mined opposition  for  two  years,  and  it  is  a  great  tribute 
to  his  ability  and  persistency  that  he  persuaded  the 
citizens  of  Boston  to  accept  his  plans  which  involved 
a  gross  expenditure  of  $1,000,000,  at  the  time  a  huge 
sum.  The  plans  he  presented  to  his  conservative  fel- 
low citizens  did  not  merely  include  the  erection  of  a 
suitable  building,  but  the  purchase  of  many  estates 
so  as  to  afford  ample  space  around  the  new  market 
house  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  widening  the  streets 
about  it.  There  was  bitter  animosity  toward  this 
"mammoth  project  of  the  Mayor,"  which  was  regarded 
as  the  beginning  of  a  city  debt,   "which  neither  the 


iyS  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

present  inhabitants  of  Boston  nor  their  posterity  would 
be  able  to  pay."  But  the  necessary  legislative  author- 
ity was  obtained,  and  the  Council  appointed  a  joint 
committee,  of  which  Mayor  Quincy  was  chairman,  to 
carry  out  the  great  plan. 

On  April  27,  1825,  the  corner  stone  of  the  new  market 
was  laid;  in  the  next  year  it  was  opened  for  public 
use.  The  total  amount  of  money  expended  was  $1,141,- 
272,  but  of  this  sum  only  a  small  amount  had  been  used 
in  building  the  market  house  ($166,935).  The  rest 
had  been  spent  in  purchasing  land  surrounding  the  new 
edifice.  Part  of  this  land  had  been  sold  for  cash  to  the 
amount  of  more  than  half  a  million  dollars,  so  that  the 
debt  on  the  market,  for  which  city  stock  had  been 
issued,  was  but  $608,475.  More  than  that,  this  debt 
was  offset  by  notes  in  favor  of  the  city  to  the  amount 
of  more  than  $219,709  and  by  unsold  land  which  was 
estimated  to  be  worth  about  $200,000.  Thus,  after  all, 
the  city  made  a  very  good  bargain,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  an  adequate  market  section  became  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  growth  of  the  city  as  a  distribut- 
ing center  for  food  products.  The  Quincy  Market  was 
the  finest  of  its  kind  and  erected  at  a  time  when  Boston 
numbered  56,000  inhabitants. 

As  a  municipal  enterprise,  the  Quincy  Market  has 
been  steadily  profitable,  for  it  has  yielded  a  net  rental 
of  about  $4,500,000  since  its  erection.  The  Faneuil 
Hall  Market  yields  from  $15,000  to  $16,000  per  year 
net.  Both  markets  are  under  the  direction  of  a  super- 
intendent who  has  charge  of  the  two  buildings,  with 
authority  to  lease  stalls  at  rentals  not  less  than  those 
established  by  the  City  Council.  The  market  police 
are  under  the  control  tff  the  Police  Commissioner  and 
appointed   by   him. 

Beyond  the  enterprise  mentioned,  the  city  has  not 
done  much  toward  affording  better  market  facilities, 
except  to  assign  places  in  different  parts  of  the  city 
where,  during  the  summer  season,  open  markets  can 
be  held  by  the  farmers  from  round  about  Boston. 


Licenses  and  the  License  Board.  179 


LICENSES    AND    THE    LICENSE    BOARD. 


-  The  policy  of  imposing  licenses  on  certain  occupa- 
tions as  a  means  of  revenue  had  long  been  in  vogue 
under  the  old  town  government.  After  1822,  licensing 
was  extended  more  for  the  purpose  of  regulation  than 
for  the  sake  of  income.  The  innholders  were  licensed 
by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  and  proved  a  most  produc- 
tive source  of  income.  A  tax  was  also  levied  on  theat- 
rical shows  and  other  exhibitions.  The  auditor's 
report  for  1823  has  the  following  entry:  "Edward 
Everett,  lectures  on  antiques  and  exhibition  of  pic- 
tures connected  therewith,  $15."  There  were  licenses 
for  cows  and  dogs,  chimney  sweepers,  junk  dealers, 
etc.  Later  on,  intelligence  offices,  pawn  brokers 
and  keepers  of  second-hand  shops  had  to  be  licensed, 
as  well  as  drivers  of  public  conveyances.  As  a  matter 
of  curiosity  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  1856  a  com- 
mittee recommended  a  discrimination  against  tran- 
sient theatrical  companies  because  they  took  money 
out  of  the  city.  In  subsequent  years  a  special  charge 
was  made,  for  recording  mortgages  on  personal  property 
and  an  increase  in  rate  of  license  fees  all  round. 

No  liquor  licenses  had  been  issued  in  the  late  forties 
and  could  not  be  under  the  prohibition  law  enacted  in 
1852.  This  law  caused  great  trouble  to  the  police  who 
were  powerless  to  prevent  illicit  sales;  there  were  few 
convictions  for  violating  the  law  and  a  lively  demand 
for  the  old  license  system.  Mayor  Wightman  said  in 
his  inaugural  of  1862  that  "to  insist  upon  a  law  re- 
maining upon  the  statute  books  which  is  absurd  in  its 
provisions ;  is  disregarded  by  its  own  agents,- —  and  is 
not  pretended  to  be  enforced  in  our  courts, —  refusing 
all  legislation  by  which  it  may  be  regulated,  is  unworthy 
of  a  Massachusetts  Legislature."  The  attempt  to  se- 
cure enforcement  through  the  state  police  had  not  been 
successful.  But  in  1868  Boston  departed  from  the 
policy  of  prohibition  and  issued  licenses  for  the  sale  of 


180  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

liquor.  The  consequent  income  was,  of  course,  very 
considerable  and  grew  quickly  a  few  years  later  (1875) 
under  a  law  which  permitted  shops  to  sell  liquor  for 
consumption  off  the  premises.  By  1886,  the  income 
from  this  source  alone  amounted  to  more  than  $900,000. 

The  authority  to  grant  liquor  licenses  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  Board  of  Police  until  1906,  when  an  inde- 
pendent licensing  board  was  established  for  the  pur- 
pose of  granting  this  class  of  licenses  and  certain  others. 
Meanwhile,  receipts  from  liquor  licenses  became  of 
growing  importance  and  averaged  one  million  and  a 
half  from  1903  to  1906,  a  quarter  of  this  amount  being 
paid  to  the  state.  The  restriction  placed  by  the  Legis- 
lature on  the  number  of  places  at  which  liquor  might 
be  sold  was  answered  by  arranging  higher  fees,  so  that 
receipts  from  this  source  became  even  greater  than 
before  and  continued,  until  the  advent  of  national  pro- 
hibition, to  constitute  a  very  important  element  in  the 
receipts  of  the  city. 

Among  the  different  sources  of  revenue  from  licenses 
in  recent  years  have  been  charges  for  storage-buildings, 
and  sale  of  merchandise  on  the  public  streets.  The 
minimum  fee  was  $5  and  the  maximum  was  $100. 
Boston  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  city  to  issue  licenses 
of  this  kind. 


Soldiers'  Relief.  181 


SOLDIERS'    RELIEF. 


At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  the  City  of  Bos- 
ton began  to  appropriate  monthly  payments  for  those 
who  were  dependent  upon  soldiers  and  sailors  engaged 
in  the  great  conflict.  Under  the  law  governing  out- 
lay for  this  purpose,  the  Commonwealth  had  agreed  to 
reimburse  the  towns  and  cities  for  the  money  expended. 
In  1864,  Boston  appropriated  $293,987  for  dependents 
of  soldiers  and  sailors,  practically  all  of  which  was 
repaid  by  the  Commonwealth.  Later  (1866),  the  law 
was  modified  so  as  to  provide  monthly  payments  for 
those  who  were  disabled  in  the  service  and  to  widows 
and  minors,  reimbursement  to  be  made  by  the  Com- 
monwealth. The  expenditures  of  the  municipality  fell 
in  consequence;  and  from  1869  to  1889  the  outlay  for 
soldiers'  relief  kept  at  a  pretty  constant  level,  varying 
only  from  $75,000  a  year  to  $109,000. 

All  distribution  of  state  and  city  aid  to  soldiers  and 
sailors  in  the  City  of  Boston  was  originally  made  by 
the  direction  of  the  Mayor  and  Board  of  Aldermen, 
under  different  legislative  acts;  but  in  1897,  likewise 
under  authority  from  the  Commonwealth,  the  Sol- 
diers' Relief  Department  was  created  as  a  department 
of  the  city  and  placed  in  charge  of  a  commissioner 
appointed  by  the  Mayor.  From  1893  to  the  period  of 
the  World  War,  the  expenditures  for  soldiers'  relief 
showed  a  considerable  increase  over  other  years,  chiefly 
due  to  the  changes  in  legislation,  but  since  the  ter- 
mination of  the  Great  War  the  outlay  has  amounted 
to  extraordinary  figures. 

The  net  expenditures  for  soldiers'  relief  for  the  past 
five  years,  subtracting  the  receipts  from  the  state, 
amounted  to  $1,835,752.  In  1921  the  net  expenditure 
was  $971,777. 


1S2  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 


THE   FINANCE   COMMISSION. 


On  the  recommendation  of  Mayor  Curtis,  a  commis- 
sion of  citizens  was  appointed  in  1 895  to  investigate  the 
city  finances  and  make  a  report  within  a  few  months. 
This  commission  chiefly  addressed  itself  to  questions  of 
finance,  offered  many  suggestions  of  value,  and  was 
unsparing  in  its  criticism. 

The  Boston  Finance  Commission,  which  must  not  be 
confused  with  its  predecessor  of  1895,  was  established 
by  the  City  Council  in  1907  and  instructed  to  "examine 
into  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  finances  of  the  city." 
The  commission  was  to  consist  of  seven  citizens  recom- 
mended to  the  Mayor  for  appointment  by  organiza- 
tions representing  various  business  and  other  interests 
in  the  city.  The  commissioners,  who  served  without 
pay  during  the  next  year  and  a  half  were,  Nathan 
Matthews,  chairman,  Randall  G.  Morris,  George  U. 
Crocker,  George  A.  O.  Ernst,  John  F.  Kennedy,  John 
F.  Moors  and  John  A.  Sullivan.  Under  legislative  act 
of  the  same  year,  the  Commission  was  given  authority 
"to  summons  witnesses  and  enforce  their  attendance, 
to  order  the  production  of  books,  papers,  agreements 
and  administer  oaths."  The  powers  of  the  commission 
were  better  defined  in  an  Act  of  1908,  which  also 
ordered  it  to  report  its  findings  and  recommendations 
to  the  General  Court  as  a  basis  for  legislation. 

The  Finance  Commission  of  1907  made  many  inves- 
tigations of  city  affairs  with  great  thoroughness  and 
fearless  condemnation  of  every  weakness  in  municipal 
administration  coming  under  its  observation.  Among 
its  findings  were  severe  strictures  on  the  conduct  of  the 
City  Council,  particularly  for  interference  with  con- 
tracts, the  employment  of  labor,  and  the  importuning 
heads  of  departments  to  favor  their  political  supporters 
and  constituents.  It  complained  of  excessive  salaries 
paid  city  employees  and  their  superfluous  numbers. 
The  commission  held,  however,  that  these  evils  reached 


The  Finance  Commission.  183 

back  over  a  period  of  thirty  years,  but  had  only  be- 
come of  wide  importance  since  1895. 

The  first  Finance  Commission  covered  a  large  range 
in  its  investigations.  To  enumerate  in  detail  the  sub- 
jects it  has  had  under  consideration  would  far  exceed 
our  limit  of  space,  but  its  disclosures  made  evident 
the  need  of  revising  the  city  charter,  and  to  this  task 
it  addressed  itself  with  great  care,  and,  as  has  been 
stated  elsewhere,  its  charter  recommendations  were 
accepted  by  the  voters.  The  new  charter  contained 
a  provision  for  a  permanent  finance  commission  to 
consist  of  five  persons,  qualified  voters  of  the  city,  for 
terms  of  five  years,  with  a  paid  chairman. 

The  Finance  Commission  has  the  duty  of  investi- 
gating all  matters  relating  to  the  finances  of  the  City 
of  Boston  or  the  County  of  Suffolk  and  other  investi- 
gations as  may  seem  to  be  required,  and  to  make 
annual  reports  to  the  Mayor,  the  City  Council,  the 
Governor  and  the  General  Court.  The  commission 
is  authorized  to  employ  expert  counsels  and  other 
assistants  as  may  seem  necessary,  but  not  at  a  cost 
exceeding  $25,000  a  year.  The  findings  and  recom- 
mendations of  the  Finance  Commission  are  embodied 
in  voluminous  documents  accessible  to  the  public. 


184  i§22  —  Boston — 1922. 


SUFFOLK   COUNTY. 


The  relation  between  the  City  of  Boston  and  the 
County  of  Suffolk  has  in  certain  respects  always  been 
anomalous  and  the  cause  of  much  irritation.  To  put 
this  relationship  briefly,  disputes  continually  arose  over 
the  expenditure  of  money,  Boston  being  called  upon  to 
bear  county  expenses  without  having  proper  control 
over  their  disbursement. 

Although  at  the  time  of  the  incorporation  of  Boston 
as  a  city,  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  had  been  abol- 
ished, officers  of  the  county  courts  still  retained  certain 
powers,  among  them  the  right  to  expend  money  for 
the  courts  and  for  the  keep  of  prisoners.  Boston  had 
agreed  to  assume  all  the  expenditures  of  Suffolk  County, 
but  the  officers  in  question  could  draw  without  limit 
upon  the  city  treasury.  The  result  of  this  state  of 
affairs  was  that  Chelsea,  the  only  other  town  in  the 
county,  escaped  paying  her  just  proportion  of  the 
taxes.  While  Chelsea  remained  a  village  it  did  not 
matter  so  much,  but  when  increasing  expenditures  were 
demanded  for  the  town,  Boston  assumed  the  new 
burden  with  a  good  deal  of  grumbling. 

In  1 83 1,  Chelsea  gave  up  to  Boston  her  claim  to 
county  property,  a  welcome  change,  for  it  afforded  the 
city  better  control  over  the  affairs  of  a  county  whose 
limits  practically  coincided  with  those  of  Boston.  But 
various  court  officers  continued  to  have  the  privilege 
of  paying  for  court  proceedings  and  the  maintenance 
of  prisoners  out  of  money  appropriated  by  Boston. 
In  short,  they  contracted  the  greater  part  of  the  ordi- 
nary expenditures  of  the  county.  The  county  pay- 
ments were  divided  into  two  groups.  The  first  in- 
cluded those  made  on  requisition  of  the  Mayor  and  the 
second  those  made  on  demand  by  the  County  Board  of 
Accounts,  consisting  of  the  Judge  of  Probate,  the  Jus- 
tice of  the  Police  Court,  and  the  Judge  of  the  Munic- 
ipal Court.   As  the  so-called  "Mayor's  Drafts"  totaled 


Suffolk  County.  185 

only  one  sixth  of  the  whole  county  expenditure,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  greater  part  of  it  was  beyond  the  con- 
trol of  the  Mayor  and  the  City  Council.  The  County 
Board  of  Accounts  controlled  the  amounts  paid  to 
jurors,  witnesses  and  constables  and  several  other  items, 
the  most  important  being  for  the  maintenance  of 
prisoners. 

How  dissatisfied  the  municipal  government  was  be- 
cause it  could  not  exercise  supervision  of  county 
expenditures  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  state- 
ment by  the  Boston  City  Auditor,  who  said  in  his 
report  of  1898,  "It  is  not  easy  to  perceive  the  reason 
that  its  expenditures  should  not  be  brought  under  the 
same  examination  and  subjected  to  the  same  revision 
as  expenditures  accruing  in  every  other  department  of 
the  city  government."  Some  twenty  odd  years  later, 
the  City  Auditor  said,  "Of  the  county  expense  the  city 
has  no  control  except  in  fixing  the  salaries  of  the  officers 
of  the  police  court  and  a  small  portion  (say  $6,000  to 
$8,000  annually)  required  to  keep  the  county  build- 
ings in  repair."  But  Boston  was  liable  for  all  county 
expenses,  whether  controlled  by  it  or  not. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fifties,  the  City  Council  had 
additional  reasons  for  dissatisfaction,  for  Boston  was 
called  upon  to  pay  county  expenses  without  the  limits 
of  the  city.  The  unreasonableness  of  the  situation 
had  been  carried  to  an  extreme  by  a  legislative  act 
which  transferred  certain  powers  over  highways  in 
Chelsea,  that  had  been  exercised  by  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  of  Boston,  to  the  county  commissioners  of 
Middlesex,  while  Boston  was  obliged  to  pay  the  bills. 
Mayor  Rice,  in  his  inaugural  of  1856,  said  that  since 
183 1,  when  the  relations  between  Boston  and  Chelsea 
were  adjusted,  Chelsea  "has  been  twice  divided  and 
now  embraces  the  thriving  towns  of  Chelsea,  North 
Chelsea  and  Winthrop  with  an  aggregate  population 
of  some  20,000  people,  all  looking  to  Boston  for  county 
privileges,  and  yet  no  one  of  these  towns  pays  a  dollar 
for  defraying  the  county  expenses." 

At  Mayor  Rice's  instigation,  a  joint  committee  was 
appointed  to  confer  concerning  the  expediency  of  re- 
ducing   county    expenses    and    obligations.     In    i860 


i86  1822 — Boston — 1922. 

Chelsea  contained  one  twelfth  of  the  total  population 
of  the  county.  The  county  expenses  had  meanwhile 
mounted  to  considerable  sums.  Shortly  after  the  or- 
ganization of  the  city  government  they  constituted  1 1 
per  cent  of  the  total  expenditure  of  Boston  and  in  the 
early  forties  about  8  per  cent,  or  an  average  of  nearly 
$50,000.  By  1859,  county  expenses  had  risen  to 
$207,478,  or  about  7  per  cent  of  the  total  municipal 
expenditures.     Thereupon  they  fell  off  for  a  time. 

Boston  had  also  been  required  to  pay  for  highways 
which  had  been  laid  out  by  the  county  commissioners 
of  Middlesex  County.  The  matter  had  been  brought 
before  the  General  Court,  in  order  to  afford  Boston 
relief  (1861),  but  it  took  no  action.  Ten  years  later, 
the  county  commissioners  of  Middlesex  again  demanded 
a  large  payment  for  the  same  purpose.  The  General 
Court  authorized  it,  with  the  proviso  that  in  the  future 
no  expenditures  for  streets  and  bridges  in  Chelsea  and 
Winthrop  should  fall  upon  the  County  of  Suffolk  or  the 
City  of  Boston.  Toward  the  end  of  the  sixties,  Boston 
had  secured  a  better  control  of  the  county  expenditures, 
as  all  the  accounts  of  the  jail  and  police  court  were 
from  now  on  to  be  passed  on  by  the  Aldermen. 

In  1879,  the  county  expenditures  amounted  to 
$296,140;  after  that  they  rose  steadily  and  were  greatly 
added  to  by  the  cost  of  constructing  a  new  court 
house,  so  that  by  1886  they  reached  nearly  one  million 
dollars,  or  about  5  per  cent  of  the  total  expenditures 
of  the  city  government.  In  1879,  the  City  Auditor 
of  Boston  was  also  made  the  auditor  for  Suffolk  County, 
and  thus,  finally,  the  city  obtained  the  right  of  adjust- 
ing all  claims  of  the  county. 

The  need  of  a  new  court  house  had  been  evident  for 
many  years,  but  the  Board  of  Aldermen  had  never 
been  able  to  agree  upon  a  site,  although  they  had  been 
given  power  to  take  the  land  needed.  An  act  of  the 
General  Court  in  1880  required  that  if  the  Aldermen 
should  not  have  selected  a  site  before  December  1  of 
that  year,  the  Supreme  Court,  through  the  appoint- 
ment of  commissioners,  should  make  its  own  selection. 
The  Aldermen  thereupon  selected  the  so-called  reser- 


Suffolk  County.  187 

voir  lot  on  Beacon  Hill.  Five  years  later  they  obtained 
legislative  authority  to  take  land  with  the  consent  of 
the  Mayor  and  to  build  a  new  court  house.  They 
decided  to  locate  the  structure  on  Pemberton  square, 
and  took  the  necessary  estates  for  which  payment  was 
made  through  a  loan  of  $850,000.  The  new  court  house 
was  occupied  in  1891  and  has  cost  $3,800,000,  or  a  sum 
within  the  limit  fixed  by  the  General  Court. 

The  first  Finance  Commission  had  drawn  attention 
to  the  steadily  increasing  county  expenditures,  which 
in  1907  had  reached  a  total  of  one  and  a  half  million 
dollars.  This  represented  an  advance  from  1892  of 
about  97  per  cent.  The  Finance  Commission  found 
that  the  cost  of  administration  in  Suffolk  County  was 
grossly  excessive.  One  reason  for  this  was  that  Boston 
had  been  made  to  bear  an  undue  proportion  of  the  cost 
of  litigation.  Mayor  Matthews  refers,  in  his  vale- 
dictory address,  to  the  law  governing  the  venue  of  cases, 
remarking  that  attorneys  preferred  to  bring  their  cases 
into  Suffolk  County  in  order  to  facilitate  the  transac- 
tion of  business  and  because  the  damage  awards  by 
juries  were  expected  to  be  greater.  The  system  of 
estimates  and  of  appropriating  money  for  county  pur- 
poses was  lax,  according  to  the  Finance  Commission, 
and  without  any  check  on  the  increase  of  salaries  and 
on  establishing  new  salaried  places. 

The  City  Council  of  Boston  acts  as  county  commis- 
sioners for  Suffolk  County.  In  addition  to  the  offices 
common  to  all  counties,  that  of  Suffolk  has  to  pay  for 
the  services  of  certain  officials  doing  the  work  of  the 
Commonwealth,  or  at  least  a  part  of  it.  Thus,  there 
is  a  clerk  for  the  County  of  Suffolk  attached  to  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court,  the  largest  part  of  whose 
salary  comes  from  the  county.  Likewise,  some  offi- 
cials of  the  Superior  Court  receive  their  compensation 
from  the  county.  The  municipal  courts,  including 
courts  of  the  same  jurisdiction  in  seven  districts  of  the 
city,  the  Boston  Juvenile  Court,  and  the  probation 
officers  attached  to  them,  self- evidently  are  paid  for 
by  the  county.  The  expenditures  for  penal  institu- 
tions are  also  reckoned  as  a  county  charge.     Finally, 


i88  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

the  two  medical  examiners  for  Suffolk  County,  together 
with  their  associates,  are  county  officials.  The  actual 
expenses  on  account  of  the  County  of  Suffolk  in  1921- 
22  was  $2,424,290.07.  The  entire  relationship  between 
the  city  and  county  and,  one  might  add,  to  the  Com- 
monwealth so  far  as  the  county  is  concerned,  is  con- 
fusing and  has  resulted  in  an  undue  proportion  of  taxes 
being  settled  upon  the  rate  payers  of  Boston. 


Suffolk  County. 


189 


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igo  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 


BOSTON   AND   ITS   COMMERCE. 


Nature  has  given  Boston  the  inestimable  asset  of  an 
excellent  harbor  hard  by  the  open  sea.  By  utilizing 
this  advantage  the  city  grew  in  population  and  wealth 
chiefly  through  foreign  and  coastwise  commerce.  Prior 
to  the  beginning  of  Boston's  history  as  a  municipality, 
the  smaller  sea  ports  in  Massachusetts  had  sought  to 
rival  Boston  in  sea-borne  traffic,  but  gradually  their 
foreign  trade  slipped  away,  and  they  together  with  the 
villages  along  the  great  rivers  became  manufacturing 
centers. 

/In  shipping  and  foreign  trade,  Boston's  only  maritime 
rival  in  her  earlier  days  as  a  city  was  New  York,  de- 
spite the  natural  advantage  of  Philadelphia,  Balti- 
more and  New  Orleans  in  having  ample  raw  products 
for  export.  In  the  thirties  of  the  last  century,  the 
yearly  average  of  vessels  entering  Boston  from  foreign 
ports  reached  nearly  1,500.  At  the  same  time  the 
average  size  of  the  vessels  had  grown.  The  coastwise 
trade  had  developed  enormously,  so  that  by  1844  no 
less  than  fifteen  vessels  entered  and  left  Boston  Harbor 
every  day  in  the  year:' 

In  the  Boston  business  directories  towards  the  end 
of  the  forties,  one  reads  at  the  head  of  the  long  list  of 
merchants  that  they  were  principally  ship  owners  and 
importers  of  "cargoes  of  Russia,  South  American,  Cal- 
cutta, Canton,  European  and  West  India  goods." 

Boston  had  not  been  fortunate  in  her  ventures  with 
trans-Atlantic  packet  lines  because  of  her  inability  to 
furnish  return  cargoes.  For  several  years  there  had 
been  talk  of  establishing  a  trans- atlantic  steamship  line 
from  Boston,  but  the  project  had  to  wait  until  Samuel 
Cunard  founded  his  North  American  Royal  Steam 
Packet  Company  in  1839,  with  Boston  as  its  terminus 
in  the  United  States.  To  encourage  his  plans,  a  wharf 
and  docks  at  East  Boston  were  leased  to  him  rent  free. 
In  the  meanwhile,   several  coastwise  steamship  lines 


Boston  and  Its  Commerce.  191 

had  been  established,  but  in  trans- atlantic  enterprises 
Boston  had  only  a  small  share,  and  steam  navigation 
played  an  insignificant  part  in  her  commerce. 

The  railroads  which  were  built  subsequent  to  1825 
proved  a  great  aid  to  Boston,  especially  through  con- 
nections with  other  New  England  centers  of  manu- 
facture. Boston's  only  connection  with  the  West,  the 
Western  Railroad,  sent  very  little  freight  to  Boston 
docks  until  after  the  Civil  War.  The  sailing  packets 
proved  to  be  more  important  as  distributing  agencies 
than  the  railroads.  Aside  from  the  numerous  packet 
sloops,  plying  between  Boston  and  other  New  England 
places,  there  were  coastwise  packet  lines  to  the  nearby 
Atlantic  ports  and  as  far  south  as  New  Orleans. 

New  York  was  the  only  formidable  rival  of  Boston  in 
shipping  and  commerce,  but  while  New  York  exports 
advanced,  those  of  Boston  remained  stationary  for 
lack  of  goods  for  export.  By  1845,  New  York  had  a 
greater  merchant  fleet  than  Massachusetts;  but  this 
was  in  large  part  due  to  the  migration  of  ship  builders 
and  merchants  from  Boston  to  New  York.  Besides, 
a  very  large  part  of  New  York's  commerce  was  car- 
ried in  vessels  owned  in  Boston.  "One  third  of  the 
commerce  of  New  York,  from  1839  to  1842,  was  car- 
ried either  upon  Massachusetts'  account  or  in  Massa- 
chusetts vessels."  Boston's  shipping  enabled  her  to 
compete  successfully  with  other  American  ports.  Her 
merchants  "still  owned  a  large  part  of  the  American 
merchant  marine,  and  their  ability  to  earn  freights, 
gather  in  cargoes  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  to 
find  the  right  markets,  lay  at  the  root  of  Boston's 
success."  Boston  also  at  that  time  had  better  dock 
facilities,  which  distinguished  "this  port  from  other 
principal  ports  of  our  country." 

Boston's  maritime  development  culminated  with  the 
clipper  ship  era,  1850-57.  The  discovery  of  gold  in 
California,  the  repeal  of  the  British  Navigation  Acts, 
the  necessity  of  keeping  pace  with  the  growing  wealth 
and  population,  and  the  competition  for  certain  foreign 
trade,  called  for  more,  bigger  and  faster  vessels.  The 
clipper  ship  was  evolved  to  meet  the  new  demands. 
"Never,  in  these  United  States,  has  the  brain  of  man 


192  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

so  conceived,  or  the  hand  of  man  fashioned  so  perfect 
a  thing  as  the  clipper  ship."  The  master  builder  was 
Donald  McKay,  who  began  his  career  at  Newburyport, 
later  transferring  his  activities  to  East  Boston  where 
he  turned  out  his  greatest  maritime  wonders.  He  died 
almost  in  poverty;  yet  his  name  was  carried  to  the 
uttermost  seas  by  clipper  ships  sprung  from  his  creative 
and  ever  fertile  brain. 

"Throughout  the  clipper  ship  era,  nearly  all  the 
traditional  lines  of  Massachusetts'  maritime  commerce 
continued  to  expand,  and  new  ones  were  created." 
Boston's  commercial  prosperity  reached  its  antebellum 
height  by  1857.  Even  previous  to  this  year,  the  clipper 
ships  proved  to  be  less  profitable  than  anticipated; 
steam  navigation  gradually  supplanted  them,  and  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  fifties  they  had  become  almost 
phantoms  of  the  sea.  The  financial  crash  of  1857, 
followed  by  years  of  depression  and,  later,  by  the  great 
upheaval  of  the  Civil  War  brought  the  supremacy  of 
Boston's  maritime  ventures  to  an  unavoidable  end. 
Boston  failed  to  substitute  steam  for  sail,  and  this  fact 
more  than  any  other  accounted  for  the  loss  of  her  old 
preeminence. 

"The  sea  ports  of  Massachusetts  have  turned  their 
backs  to  the  element  that  made  them  great,  save  for 
play  and  for  fishing;  Boston  alone  is  still  in  the  deep-sea 
game.  But  all  her  modern  docks  and  terminals  and 
dredged  channels  will  avail  nothing,  if  the  spirit  perish 
that  led  her  founders  to  '  trye  all  ports.' ' 

These  remarks  on  the  growth  and  decay  of  Boston's 
merchant  marine  are  so  far  within  the  scope  of  our 
municipal  history  as  the  city  government  has  from  time- 
to  time  been  called  upon  to  help  revive  the  commerce 
of  the  city,  and  now  at  last  is  making  a  concerted  effort 
to  that  end. 

Under  Mayor  Matthews'  administration,  more  than 
seven  hundred  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  in  busi- 
ness firms  asked  the  city  government  to  petition  the 
legislature  for  authority  to  establish  public  docks; 
and  the  City  Council  requested  the  Mayor  to  send  such 
a  petition  to  the  General  Court.  But  he  thought  the 
scheme  would  necessitate  the  expenditure  of  millions, 


DONALD   McKAY,    MASTER    BUILDER. 


Boston  and  Its  Commerce.  193 

and  that  it  was  altogether  doubtful  whether  by  a 
modern  system  of  docks  the  languishing  commerce  of 
Boston  could  be  resuscitated.  He  cited  the  example 
of  Mayor  Otis  who  had  endeavored  to  persuade  the 
municipality  to  build  railroads.  Mayor  Otis  had  taken 
the  ground,  in  1829,  that  "the  state  and  city  must 
be  up  and  doing,  or  the  streams  of  our  prosperity  will 
seek  new  channels."  He  wanted  railroads  to  be  con- 
structed on  public  account  or  by  means  of  public 
contributions,  "to  save  the  state  and  city  from  insig- 
nificance and  decay."  The  people  actually  voted,  in 
1830,  to  request  the  General  Court  that  it  authorize 
the  city  to  subscribe  for  $1,000,000  of  railroad  stocks. 
Yet  it  is  history  that  Massachusetts  secured  a  rail- 
road system  without  city  or  state  aid,  and  that  later 
railroad  speculations  on  part  of  the  state  proved  both 
expensive  and  useless. 

The  plans  for  improving  the  port  facilities  of  Boston 
lay  dormant  until  the  establishment  of  a  waterfront 
commission  during  Mayor  Fitzgerald's  first  adminis- 
tration. This  commission  did  not  accomplish  much, 
but  may  have  helped  to  move  the  General  Court  to  a 
realization  of  the  need  of  new  docks  and  terminal 
facilities.  At  any  rate,  a  board  of  commissioners  for 
the  port  of  Boston  was  created  by  legislative  act  in 
191 1  (consolidated  in  1916  with  the  Harbor  and  Land 
Commission),  and  an  adequate  system  of  docks  was 
built  by  the  Commonwealth.  Later,  through  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Army  Supply  Base  by  the  Federal 
Government  (191 8),  with  its  immense  wharf,  shed  and 
other  facilities,  the  harbor  has  become  amply  supplied 
with  docks  to  take  care  of  shipping  for  some  years  to 
come.  On  the  harbor  itself,  the  Federal  Government 
has  expended  upward  of  $12,000,000  in  improving  the 
channels  and  making  them  deep  enough  to  allow  access 
to  docks  of  the  largest  vessels. 

It  is  another  and  different  problem  to  remove  the 
obstacles  which  prevent  the  port  of  Boston  from  being 
utilized  to  its  natural  extent.  The  higher  freight  rates 
between  western  points  and  Boston  than  between  the 
West  and  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  for  instance,  have 
operated  entirely  to  the  disadvantage  of  Boston.     This 


194  !822  —  Boston — 1922. 

discrimination  must  be  removed  before  Boston  can 
come  into  its  own ;  and  then  there  still  remains  the  work 
of  inducing  shippers  to  take  advantage  of  the  shorter 
ocean  route  offered  by  Boston,  and  to  provide  better 
local  facilities  for  handling  railroad  freight,  etc. 

The  city  has  from  time  to  time  had  considerable  to 
do  with  the  question  of  railroad  terminals,  and  has  co- 
operated in  many  of  the  changes  and  improvements 
made,  but  not  always  with  great  foresight  and  success. 

With  the  advent  of  the  second  century  of  Boston's 
existence  as  a  city,  a  new  municipal  policy  has  been 
inaugurated  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  and  building 
up  Boston's  commerce,  and  with  it,  that  of  the  whole  of 
New  England.  The  task  can  be  done  successfully  if 
the  spirit  of  the  early  fathers  of  Boston  is  followed  which 
led  them  too  "trye  all  ports." 


GEORGE     ROBERT     WHITE. 


The  George  Robert  White  Fund.  195 


THE  GEORGE  ROBERT  WHITE  FUND. 


The  many  gifts  bestowed  upon  the  City  of  Boston 
during  the  hundred  years  culminated  in  the  bequest  of 
George  Robert  White,  valued  at  about  $5,000,000. 

Mr.  White  was  a  citizen  of  Boston  the  greater  part 
of  his  life.  As  a  boy  he  worked  in  the  office  of  the 
Weeks  and  Potter  Drug  Company.  In  the  course 
of  time  he  became  the  president  and  practically  the 
owner  of  the  concern  and  changed  the  name  of  the 
corporation  to  that  of  the  Potter  Drug  and  Chemical 
Company. 

He  was  a  man  of  quiet,  unostentatious  character  and 
habit,  a  bachelor  who  devoted  most  of  his  days  to 
business  and  finance  and  had  little  taste  for  publicity 
and  politics.  He  doubtless  always  had  in  mind  the 
project  which  materialized  in  his  great  bequest  to  the 
city  of  his  home. 

His  will  was  a  plain  simple  document.  It  made  cer- 
tain gifts  and  bequests  to  the  persons  and  interests  near 
and  dear  to  him,  but  devised  the  rest  and  residue  to 
the  City  of  Boston,  expressing  the  desire  that  "the 
same  be  held  a  permanent  charitable  fund  to  be  known 
as  the  'George  Robert  White  Fund';  the  net  income 
only  to  be  used  for  creating  public  utility  and  beauty 
and  for  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  City  of  Boston."  p 

Continuing,  the  will  says,  "It  is  my  intention  that 
no  part  of  said  income,  however,  shall  be  used  for  a 
religious,  political,  educational,  or  any  purpose  which 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  city  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
events  to  provide." 

The  management  of  the  White  fund  and  the  disburse- 
ment of  its  income  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  board  of 
five  trustees,  consisting  of  the  Mayor  of  Boston  as 
chairman,  the  President  of  the  City  Council,  the  City 
Auditor,  the  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
and  the  President  of  the  Boston  Bar  Association.  The 
trustees  have  power  to  fill  vacancies.     The  city  must, 


196  1S22 — Boston — 1922. 

however,  at  all  times  be  officially  represented  by  a 
majority  of  the  board  of  trustees.  The  business  of  the 
fund  is  to  be  transacted  through  the  regular  depart- 
ments of  the  city. 

Mr.  White  was  eager  to  safeguard  the  fund  through 
publicity  and  therefore  directed  "that  at  least  once  a 
year  the  trustees  shall  cause  to  be  published  in  most,  if 
not  all,  of  the  papers  of  general  circulation  in  Boston  a 
full  and  comprehensive  report  duly  audited,  signed  and 
sworn  to  by  at  least  three  of  their  number,  setting  forth 
the  receipts,  disbursements  and  investments  of  the 
fund." 

The  donor  did  not  wish  hasty  or  unconsidered  action 
in  the  expenditure  of  the  income  from  the  fund,  and 
therefore  proposed  that  no  "substantial  expenditure 
should  be  made  for  any  purpose  until  it  shall  have  been 
under  consideration  by  the  trustees  for  at  least  three 
months."  Mr.  White  did  not  attempt  to  give  explicit 
directions  in  regard  to  the  objects  for  which  the  income 
from  the  fund  might  be  used.  He  said  in  his  will, 
however,  "While  I  think  that  Boston  has  now  few,  if 
any,  superiors  in  beauty  and  in  the  many  privileges  it 
affords  to  its  citizens,  yet  I  believe  it  has  greater  possi- 
bilities for  the  future,  and  there  are  several  public 
blessings  among  those  afforded  by  other  cities, —  such 
as  a  zoological  garden  and  handsome  buildings  there- 
for, an  aquarium,  a  forum  of  substantial  proportions 
for  public  gatherings,  etc. —  which  we  do  not  possess. 
It  is  with  such  things  as  these  in  mind  that  I  have 
established  the  foregoing  trust  fund." 

Mr.  White  was  solicitous  that  the  fund  should  not  be 
used  for  "small  and  comparatively  unimportant  needs." 
He  regarded  the  use  of  it  for  such  purposes  as  contrary 
to  his  intention.  "Its  income,  accumulated  if  need  be 
for  a  time  long  enough  to  make  it  sufficient,  should  be 
used  only  for  important  civic  improvements." 

The  board  of  trustees  provided  for  under  Mr.  White's 
will  has  organized  and  chosen  for  its  manager  George 
E.  Phelan.  At  this  writing,  it  is  not  wholly  deter- 
mined what  disposition  shall  be  made  of  the  income  so 
far  accrued.  Among  other  things,  the  establishment 
of  health  units  in  the  city  has  received  much  attention. 


The  Population  or  Boston.  197 


THE   POPULATION   OF   BOSTON. 
Its  Composition  and  Characteristics. 


The  growth  of  the  population  of  Boston,  by  ten-year 
periods,  from  the  year  of  its  incorporation  to  the  present 
time  is  shown  in  an  appended  table.  But  the  mere 
statement  of  absolute  figures  does  not  tell  the  real 
growth  in  numbers  of  those  who  work  and  have  their 
being  within  the  municipal  boundaries,  though  they 
may  sleep  elsewhere.  The  inhabitants  contained  in 
what  is  diversely  called  the  Metropolitan  District  and 
Greater  Boston  numbers  1,658,936.  For  this  huge 
aggregation  of  human  beings  Boston  is  the  veritable 
hub.  Of  far  greater  consequence  than  a  knowledge  of 
numbers  is  an  understanding  of  the  portentous  changes 
that  have  taken  place  in  Boston's  population  during  a 
hundred  years,  and  especially  in  the  later  decades. 
This  may  be  summed  up  by  saying  that  Boston  has 
largely  ceased  to  be  the  home  of  inhabitants  of  pure 
colonial  stock. 

At  the  United  States  Cerisus  of  January  1,  1920,  the 
city  had  748,060  inhabitants  (this  official  figure  must 
be  used,  although  the  correctness  of  it  is  in  dispute). 
Of  the  whole  population,  65.71  per  cent  are  rated  as 
native  white;  31.94  per  cent  as  foreign-born  white; 
with  2.19  per  cent  negroes  and  0.16  Chinese,  Japanese, 
etc. 

Subdividing  the  native-born  white  according  to 
parentage,  it  is  found  that  only  24.30  per  cent  were  of 
native  parentage,  as  against  31.05  per  cent  of  foreign 
parentage,  and  9.56  per  cent  mixed  parentage.  In 
other  words,  only  about  a  quarter  of  the  entire  popu- 
lation of  Boston  is  made  up  of  native  whites  of  native 
parentage;  and  were  one  to  go  two  or  three  or  more 
generations  back,  it  would  be  found  that  the  propor- 
tion of  native  white  of  native  parentage,  in  the  sense 
of  coming  from  colonial  stock,   approaches  the  van- 


198  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

ishing  point.  Thus,  while  Boston's  white  inhabitants 
of  native  birth  are  in  the  majority,  the  racial  stock 
that  predominated  in  Revolutionary  days  has  become 
a  minute  minority. 

The  distribution  of  Boston's  population  by  sex  shows 
a  slight  preponderance  of  females.  This  is  true  of  the 
native  and  foreign-born  whites,  but  not  of  the  negroes. 
In  regard  to  illiteracy,  the  foreign-born  white,  of  course, 
contributes  the  most  significant  percentage  (9.90  per 
cent),  with  the  negroes  next  (2.24  per  cent),  the  few 
Chinese  not  being  counted.  The  illiteracy  among  the 
native  white  ten  years  of  age  and  over  is  about  0.14 
per  cent  of  the  whole  population.  If  one  confines  the 
question  of  illiteracy  to  persons  twenty-one  years  of 
age  and  over,  it  is  found  that  only  4.82  per  cent  of  the 
foreign  born  white  do  not  know  how  to  read  and  write. 
Illiteracy  is  not  a  question  of  morals  or  intelligence; 
it  is  a  matter  of  opportunity.  Massachusetts  gives  to 
the  children  of  the  alien  the  educational  opportunities 
denied  him  or  unavailable  in  his  European  lands  of 
origin. 

Details  in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  population  by 
race,  meaning  thereby  also  the  distribution  relative  to 
country  of  birth  of  the  inhabitants  of  different  racial 
stocks  represented  in  the  population,  are  not  as  yet 
available  through  the  last  census  enumeration. 


Present  City  Government. 


199 


PRESENT   CITY   GOVERNMENT. 


OFFICERS   ELECTED   BY   THE   PEOPLE. 


Officers. 


How 

Created. 


Term. 


Salary. 


City  Council  (Nine  Members) 


School  Committee  (Five  Mem- 
bers)  


Statute. 


Four  years. 
Begins     1st 
Monday    in 
February. 

Three  years .  . 


$10,000 
per  annum. 


$1,500 
per  annum. 


None. 


Included  on  his  staff  is  the 
license  clerk  and  the  editor 
of  City  Record. 


Three  members  are  elected 
each  year.  The  City 
Council  elects  the  City 
Clerk,  City  Messenger 
and  Clerk  of  Committees. 


OFFICERS  IN  CHARGE  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENTS. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  executive  departments  showing  the  manner  in  which 
the  officers  in  charge  are  appointed  or  elected,  the  time  of  appointment  or  election, 
the  term  of  office  as  prescribed  by  statute,  ordinance,  or  both,  and  the  salary  received 
by  each.  Heads  of  departments  and  members  of  municipal  boards  appointed  by  the 
Mayor  are  subject  to  approval  by  the  Massachusetts  Civil  Service  Commission. 


Appointed  or  Elected. 

Term. 

Officers. 

How 
Created. 

Salary. 

By  Whom. 

When. 

Begins. 

Length  of. 

Assessors  (Three) 

Statute 

Mayor 

Annually, 
one 

!  April  1 

1 
Three  years, 

i$4,500 

Ord 

« 

Quadren- 
nially. .  .  . 

Annually, 
one  or  two, 

May  1 
"     1 

Four  years. . 
Five  years. . 

Boston  Sanatorium 
Trustees  (Seven) .... 

7,000 
None. 

Budget  Commissioner. . 

"      

"          .... 

Quadren- 
nially .... 

"     1 

Four  years . . 

$6,000 

Building  Commissioner. 

Statute 

" 

Quadren- 
nially .... 

"     1 

-       "      .. 

6,000 

City  Clerk 

Citv     Planning     Board 
(Five) 

Ord 

City  Council 
Mayor 

Triennially, 

Annually, 
one 

1st  Monday 
in  Feb 

May  1 

Three  years, 
Five  years . . 

6,000 

None. 

Statute 

"        

Quadren- 
nially .... 

"     1 

Four  years.. 

$6,000 

Corporation  Counsel.  .  . 

Ord 



Quadren- 
nially .... 

"     1 

«        -      .. 

9,000 

i  Chairman,  86,000. 


200 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


Ol  1  [I  1  RS 


How 

(  'rented. 


Appointed  or  Elected, 


By  Whom. 


When. 


Term. 


Begins.  Length  of. 


Salary. 


Election  Commissioners 
(Four) 


Fire  Commissioner. 


Health  Commissioner.  . 

Hospital  Trustees  (Five) 
Institutions       Commis- 


Library  Trustees  (Five), 

Markets,    Superintend- 
ent of 


Statute. 


Orel .... 
Statute. 
Ord.... 


Overseers  of  the  Public 
Welfare  (Twelve) 


Park     Commissioners 
(Three) 


Printing,     Superintend- 
ent of 


Public  Buildings,  Super- 
intendent of 


Public  Works,  Commis- 
sioner of 


Registrar,  City 

Schoolhouse      Commis- 
sioners (Three) 


Sinking  Funds  Commis- 
sioners (Six) 


Soldiers'  Relief  Commis- 
sioner  


Statistics    Trustees 
(Five) 


Street      Commissioners 
(Three) 


Supplies,      Superintend- 
ent of 


Transit    Commissioners 
(Three) 


Treasurer. 


Vessels,  Weighers  of . .  . 

Weights   and   Measures, 
Sealer  of 


Statute. 


Ord. 


Statute. 


Ord.... 
Statute. 
Ord .... 


Statute. 


Mayor. 


Annually, 
one. . .  . 


Quadren- 
nially .  . 

Quadren- 
nially .  . 

Annually, 
one. . .  . 


Quadren- 
nially .  . 

Annually, 
one 


Quadren- 
nially .  . 

Annually, 
four. . . . 


Annually, 
one 


Quadren- 
nially .  . 

Quadren- 
nially .  . 

Quadren- 
nially. . 

Quadren- 
nially .  . 

Annually, 
one 


Annually, 
two. .  .  . 


Quadren- 
nially . 

Annually, 
one . . . 


Annually, 
one 


Quadren- 
nially .  . 

Annually. 

Quadren- 
nially .  . 

Annually, 
two 


Quadren- 
nially. 


April  1 

May  1 

"     1 

"     1 

"     1 

"     1 

"     1 

"     1 

"     1 

"     1 

"     1 

"     1 

"     1 

June  1 

May  1 

"     1 

"     1 

1st  Monday 
in  Feb .  .  . 

May  1 

8     1 

"     1 

"     1 .  .  .  . 

"     1 .  .  .  . 


Four  years. 

Five  years . . 
Four  years. . 
Five  years . . 
Four  years. . 
Three  years 

Four  years.. 


Three  years 

Four  years. 

Five  years . 

Three  years 

Four  years. 
One  year .  . 


Four  years, 


1  Chairman,  $4,500. 

2  Chairman,  $7,000;  others,  none. 

3  Chairman,  $500  additional. 

4  Chairman,  $2,500  additional. 


Present  City  Government. 


201 


OTHER   CITY  OFFICERS. 

The  following  table  shows  the  manner  in  which  officers  connected  with  the  city, 
other  than  the  regular  city  department  heads,  are  appointed,  the  time  of  appoint- 
ment, the  term  of  office,  and  the  salary,  if  any,  of  each  officer.  Appointments  by 
the  Mayor  marked  with  a  *  are  subject  to  approval  by  the  State  Civil  Service 
Commission. 


How 
Created. 

Appointed  or 
Elected. 

Term. 

By  Whom. 

When. 

Begins. 

Length  of. 

Statute.. 

Mayor .  .  . 

Governor1 
«           1 

Supreme 
Court . . 

Governor1 

Annually, 
one. 

May,  1898. 

May  1. 

Aug.  1. 

Five  years. 

Indefinite.. 
Five  years. 

Six  years... 

2 

Boston      and      Cambridge      Bridges 

Annually, 
one. 

Biennially, 
one. 

As  vacan- 

3 

Licensing  Board  (three) 

Managers     of     the    Franklin     Fund 

*  $3,500 

Five  years. 

$8,000 

1  WTith  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Executive  Council. 

2  Salary,  $10  per  day,  but  not  to  exceed  $1,000  per  year. 

3  Chairman,  $5,000;    other  members  none. 

4  Chairman,  $500  additional. 


CHAIRMEN  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  ALDERMEN,  185 5-1 909. 
(The  Board  was  abolished  by  Amended  City  Charter  of  1909.) 


Name. 


Place  and  Date  of  Birth. 


Died. 


Years  of 
Service. 


Lyme,  N.  H Oct.     7,1808 

Pembroke Feb.  21,  1802 

Boston Oct.   19,  1812 

Scituate Feb.  15,  1793 

Westhampton Mar.    3,  1S06 

(See  above) 

Lynn Mar.  31,  1803 

Boston Aug.  16,  1812 

Boston Nov.    2,  1811 

;  George  W.  Messinger Boston Feb.     5,  1813 


:  William  Washburn 

1  Pelham  Bonney 

:  Joseph  Milner  Wightman . 

:  Silas  Peirce 

:  Otis  Clapp 

;  Silas  Peirce 

:  Thomas  Phillips  Rich 

Thomas  Coffin  Amory,  jr. 
;  Otis  Norcross 


Oct.  30,  1890 
April  29,  1861 
Jan.  25,  1885 
Aug.  27,  1879 
Sept.  18,  1$86 
(See  above) . .  . 
Dec.  11,  1875 
Oct.  10,  1899 
Sept.  5,  1882 
April  27,  1870 


1855 

1856-57 

1858 

1859 

1860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

1864 

1865-66 


*  Deceased. 

Note. —  The  Mayor  was  ex  officio  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  from  the  incor- 
poration of  the  City  until  1855;   from  1855  a  Chairman  was  elected  annually. 


202 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


N  V.MK. 


Place  and  Date  of  Birth. 


Died. 


Years  of 

Service. 


*  Charles  Wesley  Slack 

*  George  W.  Messinger 

*  Benjamin  James 

*  Newton  Talbot 

*  Charles  Edward  Jenkins .  . 

*  Samuel  Little 

*  Leonard  R.  Cutter 

*  John  Taylor  Clark 

*  Solomon  Bliss  Stebbins .  .  . 

*  Hugh  O'Brien 

*  Solomon  Bliss  Stebbins .  .  . 

*  Hugh  O'Brien 

*  Charles  Varney  Whitten.  . 

*  Charles  Hastings  Allen .  .  . 

*  Patrick  John  Donovan. . .  . 

*  Charles  Hastings  Allen .  .  . 

*  Homer  Rogers 

William  Power  Wilson .... 

*  Herbert  Schaw  Carruth. . . 

John  Henry  Lee 

Alpheus  Sanford 

John  Henry  Lee 

t  Perlie  Appleton  Dyar 

f  Joseph  Aloysius  Conry. . .  . 

*  David  Franklin  Barry.  .  .  . 

*  Michael  Joseph  O'Brien..  . 

James  Henry  Doyle 

Daniel  A.  Whelton 

t  Charles  Martin  Draper.  .  . 

t  Edward  L.  Cauley 

William  Berwin 

*  Louis  M.  Clark 

*  Fredrick  J.  Brand 


Boston Feb.  21, 

(See  above) 

Scituate Aug.  22, 

Stoughton Mar.  10, 

Scituate July  29, 

Hingham Aug.  15, 

Jaffrey,  N.  H July     1, 

Sanbornton,  N.  H.  .Sept.  19, 

Warren Jan.   18, 

Ireland July  13, 

(See  above) 

(See  above) 

Vassalboro,  Me May  10 

Boston June  14 

Charlestown April    9 

(See  above) 

Sudbury Oct.   11 

Baltimore,  Md Nov.  15 

Dorchester Feb.  15 

Boston April  26 

North  Attleboro' .  .  .  July     5 

(See  above) 

Lynn Mar.  26 

Brookline Sept.  12 

Boston Feb.  29 

Ireland Feb.  11 

Boston June  17 

Boston Jan.  21 

Dedham Nov.    1 

Charlestown Aug.    8 

New  Orleans,  La .  .  .  Dec.  16 

Dorchester Dec.  14 

Plainville,  Conn Feb.     3 


1814 
1815 
1817 
1827 
1825 
1825 
1830 
1827 


1829 

1828 
1848 


1840 
1852 
1855 
1846 
1856 


April  11,  1885 
(See  above) . . , 
April  13,  1901 
Feb.  3,  1904 
Aug.  1,  1882 
Dec.  21,  1906 
July  13,  1894 
Oct.  29,  1880 
June  8,  1910 
Aug.  1,  1895 
(See  above) . . . 
(See  above) . . . 
Mar.  18,  1891 
Mar.  31,  1907 
Sept.  18,  1912 
(See  above) . . . 
Nov.  10,  1907 


Dee.  27,  1917 


1857 
1868 
1852 
1855 
1867 
1872 
1869 
1870 
1858 
1858 
1S61 


July  23,  1911 
April    5,  1903 


Mar.  15,  1914 
Mar.  16,  1912 


1867 

1868 

1869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1S73 

1874-77 

1S78 

1879-81 

1882 

1883 

1884-85 

1886 

18S7 

1888 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892-93 

1894-95 

1896 

1S97-98 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901-04 

1905 

1906 

1906 

1907 

190S 

1909 


*  Deceased. 

t  Perlie  A.  Dyar  from  January  25,  1898,  to  April  1,  1S9S,  and  October  1,  1S98,  to  end 
of  year.     Joseph  A.  Conry  from  April  1,  1898,  to  October  1,  1898. 

%  Charles  M.  Draper  from  February  28,  1906,  to  September  10,  1906.  Edward  L.  Cauley 
from  September  10,  1906,  to  end  of  year. 


Presidents  of  the  Common  Council. 


203 


PRESIDENTS   OF   THE   COMMON    COUNCIL,   1822-1909. 

(The  Common  Council  was  abolished  by  Amended  City  Charter 

of  1909.) 


Name. 


Place  and  Date  of  Birth. 


Died. 


Years  of 
Service. 


*  William  Prescott 

*  John  Welles 

*  Francis  Johonnot  Oliver. .  . 

*  John  Richardson  Adan .  .  . 

*  Eliphalet  Williams 

*  Benj.  Toppan  Pickman.  .  . 

*  John  Prescott  Bigelow. . .  . 

*  Josiah  Quincy,  jr 

*  Philip  Marett 

*  Edward  Blake 

*  Peleg  Whitman  Chandler. . 

*  George  Stillman  Hillard . . . 

*  Benjamin  Seaver 

*  Francis  Brinley 

*  Henry  Joseph  Gardner.. .  . 

*  Alex.  Hamilton  Rice 

*  Joseph  Story 

*  Oliver  Stevens 

*  Samuel  W.  Waldron,  jr.  .  . 

*  Josiah  Putnam  Bradlee .  .  . 

*  Joseph  Hildreth  Bradley. . 

*  Joshua  Dorsey  Ball 

*  George  Silsbee  Hale 

*  Wm.  Bentley  Fowle,  jr .  .  . 

*  Joseph  Story 

*  Weston  Lewis 

*  Charles  Hastings  Allen .  . 

*  William  Giles  Harris 

*  Melville  Ezra  IngaUs 

*  Matthias  Rich 

*  Marquis  Fayette  Dickin- 

son, jr 

*  Edward  Olcott  Shepard. . . 

*  Halsey  Joseph  Boardman. . 

*  John  Q.  A.  Brackett 

*  Deceased. 


Pepperell Aug.   19,  1762 

Boston Oct.    14,  1764 

Boston Oct.    10,  1777 

Boston Jqly     8,1793 

Taunton Mar.     7,  1778 

Salem Sept.  17,  1790 

Groton Aug.  25,  1797 

Boston Jan.    17,  1802 

Boston Sept.  25,  1792 

Boston Sept.  28,  1805 

N.  Gloucester,  Me.,  Apr.  12,  '16 

Machias,  Me Sept.  22,  1808 

Roxbury April  12,  1795 

Boston Nov.  10,  1800 

Dorchester June  14,  1818 

Newton Aug.  30,  1813 

Marblehead Nov.  11,  1822 

Andover June  22,  1825 

Portsmouth,  N.  H,  Oct.    24,  1828 

Boston June  10,  1817 

Haverhill Mar.     5,1822 

Baltimore,  Md July    11,  1828 

Keene,  N.  H Sept.  24,  1825 

Boston July  27,  1826 

Marblehead Nov.  11,  1822 

Hingham April  14,  1834 

Boston June  14,  1828 

Revere May  15,  1828 

Harrison,  Me Sept.     6,  1842 

Truro June     8,  1820 

Amherst Jan.    16,  1840 

Hampton,  N.  H..  .  .Nov.  25,  1835 

Norwich,  Vt May  19,  1834 

Bradford,  N.  H June     8,  1842 


Dec.  8 
Sept.  26 
Aug.  21 
July  4 
June  12 
Mar.  22 
July  4 
Nov.  2 
Mar.  22 
Sept.  4 
May  28: 
Jan.  21 
Feb.  14 
June  14 
July  19 
July  22 
June  22 
Aug.  23 
Aug.  24 
Feb.  2 
Oct.  5 
Dec.  18 
July  27 
Jan.  21 
June  22 
April  6 
Mar.  31 
Oct.  29 
July  11 
Dec.  13 

Sept.  18 
April  27 
Jan.    15 

April  6 


1844 
1855 
1858 
1849 
1855 
1835 
1872 
1882 
1869 
1873 
1889 
1879 
1856 
1889 
1892 
1895 
1905 
1905 
1882 
1887 
1882 
1892 
1897 
1902 
1905 
1893 
1907 
1897 
1914 
1914 


1822 

1823 

1824-25 

1826-28 

1829 

1830-31 

1832-33 

1834-36 

1837-40 

1841-43 

1844-45 

1846-471 

18472-49 

1850-51 

1852-53 

1854 

1855 

1856-57 

1858 

1859-60 

1861 

1862 

1863-64 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

1870 

1871 


1915   1872 
1903  I  1873-74 


1900 
1918 


1875 
1876 


i  To  July  1. 


2  From  July  1. 


204 


iS22  —  Boston  —  1922. 


Name. 


Place  and  Date  of  Birth. 


Died. 


Year  of 

Service. 


*  Benjamin  Pope 

*  William  H.  Whitmore.  . 
Harvey  Xewton  Shcpard. 
Andrew  Jackson  Bailey..  . 

*  Charles  Edward  Pratt .  . 

*  James  Joseph  Flynn . . .  . 

*  Godfrey  Morse 

John  Henry  Lee 

Edward  John  Jenkins. .  .  . 

*  David  Franklin  Barry .  . 

*  Horace  Gwynne  Allen.  . 

*  David  Franklin  Barry .  . 

*  Christopher  Francis 

O'Brien 


Waterford,  Ire Jan.    13,  1829 

Dorchester Sept.     0,1836 

Boston July      8,  1S50 

Chariest  own July    18,  1840 

Vassalboro,  Me.  .  .  .Mar.  13,  1S45 

St.  John,  N.  B 1S35 

Wachenheim,  Ger.,  May  17,  1846 

Boston April  26,  1846 

London,  Eng Dec.   20,  1854 

Boston Feb.    29,  1852 

Jamaica  Plain July   27,  1855 

(See  above) 


Joseph  Aloysius  Conry 

Timothy     Lawrence     Con- 
nolly  


Daniel  Joseph  Kiley 

Arthur  Walter  Dolan 

William  John  Barrett 

Leo  F.  McCullough 

*  George  Cheney  McCabe. 


Boston Feb.    17,  1869 

Brookline Sept.  12,  1868 

Boston Oct.      5,  1871 

Boston July   27,  1874 

Boston Sept.  22,  1876 

Boston June  24,  1872 

Boston July      1,1882 

Carmel,  N.  Y July      5,  1873 


Sept.  24,  1879 
June  14,  1900 


Aug.  20,  189S 
Mar.  26,  18S4 
June  20,  1911 


July  23,  1911 
Feb.  12,  1919 
(See  above) . .  . 

April  25,  1S99 


Dec.  27,  1917 


1877-78 

1S79 

1880 

18811 

1881 2-82 

1883  3 

1883  « 

1884 

1885-86 

1887-88 

1889-90 

1891-93 

1894-95 
1896-97 

1898 

1899-1901 

1902-05 

1906-07 

190S 

1909 


*  Deceased.        l  To  October  27.       2  From  October  27.        3  To  June  11.       «  From  June  14. 

PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  CITY  COUNCIL,*  1910-1922. 


Name. 


Place  and  Date  of  Birth. 


Died. 


Year  of 
Service. 


Walter  Ballantyne 

Walter  Leo  Collins 

John  Joseph  Attridge.  .  .  . 
Thomas  Joseph  Kenny. .  . 
Daniel  Joseph  McDonald. 

George  W.  Coleman 

Henry  E.  Hagan 

James  J   Storrow 

Walter  Leo  Collins 

Francis  J.  W.  Ford 

James  T.  Moriarty 

James  A.  Watson 

David  J.  Brickley 


Hawick,  Scotland,  March  17,  1855 

Boston April    7,  187S 

Boston Feb.     8,  1878 

Boston Nov.  IS,  1S63 

Chelsea Aug.   14,  1S73 

Boston June  16,  1867 

St.  John,  N.  B Feb.    26,  1865 

Boston Jan.    21,  1S64 

(See  above) 

Boston Dec.  23,  1882 

Amesbury Sept.  22,  1876 

Boston June  24,  1870 

Boston M.r.  14,  1889 


1910 

1911 
1912 
1913 
1914 
191.3 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
1920 
1921 
1922 


Single  el Iier,  established  in   l'.HO  (See  Chap.  486,  Acts  of  1909,  Sects.  48-51). 


Growth  of  Population,  Etc. 


205 


GROWTH  OF  POPULATION,  AREA,  POLLS,  TAX  RATE  AND  PROP- 
ERTY TAX,  CITY  OF  BOSTON,  IN  100  YEARS,  1822-1921,  INCLU- 
SIVE,  BY   10-YEAR  PERIODS. 


Year. 


Population. 


Boston 
Proper. 


Annexed 
Districts. 


Total. 


Total 
Area 

(Acres). 


Polls. 


Tax 
Rate. 


Property 

Tax 
Assessed. 


1822 
1832 
1842 
1852 
1862 
1872 
1882 
1892 
1902 
1912 
1921 


41,407* 
56,982 
76,475 
112,561 
133,563 
138,781 
147,075 
161,330 
167,257 
193,274 
230,134 


1,891 

4,410* 

7,926 

24,320 

44,277 

111,745 

215,764 

287.147 

393,635 

477,311 

591,773 


43,298 
61,392 
84,401 
136,881 
177,840 
250,526 
362,839 
448,477 
560,892 
670,585 
821,907s 


3,422 
11,472 
23,085 
23,707 
27,297 
30,295 
30,598 


8,800 

$7  30 

14,184 

8  20 

19,636 

5  70 

28,983 

6  40 

34,159 

10  50 

67,221 

11  70 

102,594 

15  10 

136,375 

12  90 

171,516 

14  80 

202,422 

16  40 

236,082 

24  70 

$307,623 

553,618 

608,325 

1,201,152 

2,900,278 

7,987,871 

10,150,722 

11,532,286 

17,630,676 

24,301,895 

39,414,702 


*  Estimated. 

Note. — The  figures  for  population  are  from  the  National  Censuses  of  1820  and 
each  tenth  year  thereafter,  except  1840  (State  Census  instead)  and  1920  (U.  S. 
Census  incorrect). 

The  figures  under  Total  Area  are  not  exact  but  approximate. 

Boston  Proper  includes  the  territory  known  as  the  North  End,  West  End,  Back 
Bay  to  Brighton  and  Brookline  boundaries,  and  South  End  to  South  Boston  and 
Roxburv  lines. 


2o6 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


RECEIPTS  AND  EXPENDITURES,  CITY  OF  BOSTON,  IN  100 
YEARS,  1822-1921,  INCLUSIVE,  BY  10-YEAR  PERIODS. 


Receipts. 

Total 
Expenditures. 

Excess  (  +  ) 

Year. 

Taxes 
and  Other 
Revenue. 

Loans. 

Total. 

or  Defi- 
ciency ( — ) 
of  Receipts. 

1822 

$222,102 

$32,365 

$254,467 

$264,721 

—10,254 

1832 

386,864 

266,728 

653,592 

531,168 

+  122,424 

1842 

791,742 

791,742 

680,122 

+  111,620 

1852 

1,920,695 

(     399,643 
/  1,949,711* 

[  4,270,049 

2,120,602 

+2,149,447 

1862 

4,165,318 

1,604,850 

5,770,168 

5,203,706 

+566,462 

1872 

10,122,663 

2,934,000 

13,056,663 

15,174,396 

—2,117,733 

1882 

13,342,157 

2,646,000 

15,988,157 

15,576,146 

+412,011 

1892 

16,720,470 

3,734,000 

20,454,470 

21,451,404 

—996,934 

1902 

24,134,734 

9,367,651 

33,502,385 

31,495,962 

+2,006,423 

1912 

33,786,059 

4,775,000 

38,561,059 

39,336,607 

—775,548 

1921 

56,862,445 

5,469,500 

62,331,945 

63,066,243 

—734,298 

*  Loan  for  Water  Works  obtained  from  London  bankers. 


GROWTH  OF  PUBLIC  DEBT  AND  ASSESSED  VALUATION,   CITY  OF 
BOSTON,    IN    100   YEARS,    1822-1922,    BY    10- YEAR   PERIODS. 


Years. 

Gross  Debt. 

Sinking 

Funds, 

Etc. 

Net  Debt. 

Assessed 
Valuation. 

Per  Cent 
Net  Debt 

to 
Valuation. 

1822,  Apr.  30 .  . 

$71,185 

$71,185 

$42,140,200 

0.17 

1832,      "      "  .  . 

817,124 

$175,735 

641,389 

67,514,400 

0.95 

1842,     " 

1,594,700 

88,931 

1,505,769 

106,723,700 

1.41 

1852,     "      "  .  . 

7,110,680 

489,065 

6,621,615 

187,6S0,000 

3.53 

1862,      " 

9,031,208 

851,659 

8,179,549 

276,217,000 

2.96 

1872,     " 

.      28,628,536 

12,849,159 

15,779,377 

682,724,300 

2.31 

1882,     " 

.      40,079,312 

15,901,650 

24,177,662 

672,497,962*           3.60 

1892,  Jan.  31 .  . 

56,003,997 

25,569,706 

30,434,291 

893,975,704 

3.40 

1902,      "      "  .  . 

.      79,953,972 

32,801,887 

47,152,085 

1,191,274,616 

3.96 

1912,      " 

.    117,042,089 

43,567,857 

73,474,232 

1,481,819,920 

4.96 

1922,      "      "  .  . 

.    124,700,951 

44,787,940 

79,913,011 

l,677,861,774f 

4.76 

*  Valuation  1S82  much  reduced  by  Act  of  1881  exempting  real  estate  mortgages, 
t  This  aggregate  considerably  reduced   by   exemption  of  intangible  personalty 
since  1917. 


I  N  DEX. 


Adams,  Samuel   .        . 

Albany  Street  Bridge 

Aldermen,  Board  of    ....        10-14,29,31,41,6 

69,  146,155,156,166, 
American  Federation  of  Labor 
Anti-Slavery  agitation 
Area  of  Boston,  growth  in  100  years 
Armstrong,  Samuel  Turrel,  Mayor 
Army  Supply  Base 
Arnold  Arboretum 

Assessed  Valuation,  growth  in  100  years 
Assessors,  Board  of     . 
Atlantic  Avenue,  construction  of 
Austin  Farm,  West  Roxbury    . 


Back  Bay  Park  . 
Back  Bay,  reclaiming  of 
Baldwin,  Col.  Loammi 
Bates,  Joshua 
Baths  and  Gymnasia 
Bigelow,  John  Prescott,  Mayor 
Boston  and  its  commerce 
Boston  and  the  Commonwealth 
Boston  Common 

Boston  Elevated  Railway  Company 
Boston  Gas  Light  Company     . 
Boston  Harbor,  improvement  of 
Boston  Juvenile  Court 
Boston-Roxbury  Company 
Boston  Transit  Commission 
Boston  Water  Power  Company 
Boston's  growth 
Boston's  maritime  development 
Boylston  Street  Subway    . 
Bradlee,  Nathaniel  J. 

Bridges 

Brighton,  annexation  of     . 

Brimmer,  Martin,  Mayor 

British  Navigation  Acts    . 

Broad  Street  Riot 

Broadway  Bridge 

Brown,  John,  anniversary 

Budget,  Segregated,  established 

Bunker  Hill,  battle  of,  100th  anniversary 

(207) 


118 


142, 


Page 
6 

175 
1,67,68 
186,  201 
84 
78 
205 
24 

193 
122 
206 
16,  199 

154,155 
144, 149 


42, 122 
118, 119 
•  23,94 

115 
127, 128 

3o33i,i53 
190-194 
.  16-18 
,119,123,  125,  127 
169,170,171 
166 

34,193 

187 

119 

170,171 

119 

205,  206 

191,192 

170 

42 

175,176 

40 

27 

191 

25,76 

175 

78 

63 

41 


20S 


Index. 


Burns,  Anthony,  riot  over 
Bussey  Park        .... 

Cambridge  Bridge 

Cambridge  Connection  (subway) 

Castle  Island       .... 

Channing,  William  F. 

Chapman,  Jonathan,  Mayor     . 

Charitable  and  Correctional  Institutions 

Charles  River  Basin  . 

Charlestown,  annexation  of 

Charlestown  Almshouse     . 

Charlestown  Bridge    . 

Charter,  winning  of  the     . 

Charter  Amendments  of  18S5 

Charter  Commission  of  1885 

Charter  of  1822   . 

Charter  of  1854  . 

Charter  of  1909  . 

Chelsea,  town  of. 

Chestnut  Hill  Reservoir 

Children's  Institutions  Department 

City  Council  (new)     .... 

City  Council  (old) : 

Board  of  Health,  controlled  by. 
Cochituate  Water  Board,  elected  by 
Finance  Commission  of  1907,  established  by 
Overseers  of  Poor,  quarrelled  with   . 
Park  Commissioners,  appointed  by 
Police  Commissioners,  removable  by 

Powers  of 

School  Committee,  differences  with 
Sewer  system,  commission  to  investigate 
South  Bay  lands,  purchase  of  . 
Water,  power  to  fix  prices  for  . 
Water  Commissioners  appointed  by 

City  Government,  present 

City  Hall  Annex,  new  building 

City  Hospital 

City  Officers  elected  by  the  people 

City  Officers  in  charge  of  executive  departments 

City  Planning  Board 

City  Record,  re-established 

Civic  Center  of  Boston 

Civil  Service  Commission 

Civil  Service  Law  enacted 

Civil  War,  period  of  . 

Cobb,  Samuel  Crocker,  Mayor 
Cochituate  Water  Supply 
Codman,  Col.  Charles  R. 


Page 

78 
125 

I75>i76 

170 

126 

88 

.    26,  27 

I3S-ISI 
56,57»i64 

40 

144, 147 

170 

6 

12,  13 

iS7 

9-1 1 

11,  12 

13-15 

184-186 

36,97)99 
147 
14,  61,  62,  204 

67 

96 

182 

I35-I37 
120 
So 
10-14 
no 
162 
129 
100 

95 

199-201 

62 

140,  141,  150 
199 
199, 200 
62,199 
60 
66 
14 
81 

34,35.7S, 79 

141, 143, 181 

.  40,42 

•   29, 94-97 

43 


Index. 


209 


Collins,  Patrick  Andrew,  Mayor 
Commerce  and  Industry,  Bureau  of 

Common  Council 

Commonwealth  of  Mass. : 

Back  Bay,  agreement  for  improving 

Boston,  controlled  by 

Boston  Waterworks,  purchased  by 

Court  officials  of,  partly  paid  by  County 

Docks,  built  by   . 

Insane,  care  by   . 

Metropolitan  parks,  funds  for,  provided  by 

Paupers  of,  cared  for  by  Boston 

Soldiers'  Relief,  reimbursed  by 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1820 
Consumptives'  Hospital    . 
Coolidge,  Calvin,  Governor 
Correction,  House  of 

Coulthurst,  John  A.   . 

County  Board  of  Accounts 

County  Commissioners 

Court  House,  Old  Stone    . 

Court  House,  Pemberton  square 

Court  of  Common  Pleas    . 

Court  of  Quarter  Sessions. 

Craigie  Bridge     .... 

Cunard,  Samuel  .... 

Curley,  James  Michael,  Mayor 

Curtis,  Edwin  Upton,  Mayor  . 

Curtis,  Edwin  Upton,  Police  Commissioner 


Danvers  State  Hospital 
Davis,  Thomas  Aspinwall,  Mayor 
Death  Rate,  reduction  of  . 
Debt  of  City,  growth  in  100  years 
Dorchester,  annexation  of 
Dorchester  Heights     . 
Dorchester  Tunnel 
Draft  Riot  in  1863 

East  Boston  Ferry  Company 
East  Boston  Tunnel   . 
Election  Commissioners     . 
Eliot,  Samuel  Atkins,  Mayor    . 
Employment  Bureau,  Municipal 
English  High  and  Latin  Schools 
Everett,  Edward 
Expenditures  of  city  in  100  years 

Faneuil  Hall         .... 
Faneuil  Hall  (or  Quincy)  Market 


Page 

•  •        •         •    57,53 

•  •        •         •  65 
10,31,61,  143,  166,  203 


136, 
144, 


2,  63 


119,  120 
16-18 

99 

187 

193 
149 
124 

137,138 

181 

8 

151 

84 

142,143 

147,148 

60 

184,185 

187 

22 

5i,  187 

8 

.    8,184 

122 

190 

66,  147 

53,  182 

84 

145 

.   27,  28 

73 
204 

38,  105 
118 
170 

79 


172,  i73 

170,  173 

53,  83,  200 

25 

65 

103 

114 

206 

20,  31,  177 
177,  178 


65, 

52, 


2IO 


Index. 


Faneuil,  Peter 

Farm  School  for  Boys,  Thompson's  Island 
Federal  Government  .... 

Fenway 

Ferry  Service 

Finance  Commission  of  1907     . 

Fire  (Great)  of  1872  . 

Fire  Alarm,  telegraphic  system  adopted 

Fire  Department         .... 

Fire  Protection 

Fitzgerald,  John  Francis,  Mayor 
Fort  Hill,  leveling  of  . 

Franklin  Fund 

Franklin  Park 

Franklin  Union 


Page 

177 

24 

34,  193 

123 

172-174 

*3>  14,  182,  183 

•     39,  89,  90 

88 

§7,  93 

85,  93 

,  61,  62 

iS4 

12,  201 

122 

112 


58,  59 


45,  1 


Garbage  and  refuse  disposal 
Garrison,  abolitionist,  mobbed 
Gaston,  William,  Mayor    . 
General  Court  (State  Legislature) : 

Back  Bay  land,  annexation  authorized 

Board  of  Street  Survey,  authorized 

Boston,  controlled  by,  resented 

Boston,  incorporation  of    . 

Boston,  charter  amendments  of  1854  enacted  by 

Boston,  charter  amendments  of  1885  enacted  by 

Boston,  charter  of  1909  enacted  by 

Boston,  special  acts  concerning 

Church  Street  district  level  raised  under  authority  by 

City  Hospital  in  Boston  authorized 

Cities,  incorporation  of 

Finance  Commission,  powers  of       ...        . 

Fire  Commissioner  of  Boston  authorized  by 

Fort  Hill,  leveling  off,  authorized    .... 

Laborers,  law  for  retirement  of        ...        . 

Library,  establishment  authorized  by 

Liquors,  sale  of,  restricted  by 

Metropolitan  waterworks  established  by 

Parks,  purchase  of  land  for,  authorized 

Parks,  loans  for,  authorized 

Port  Commissioners  created  by        ... 

Rapid  Transit,  construction  approved  by 

Sewers,  intercepting  system  authorized  . 

Sewers,  bonds  for  construction  of,  authorized 

Street  Commissioners,  elective  board  of,  authorized, 

Street  Improvements,  law  of  1906  .... 
Governor  of  Massachusetts: 

Court  of  quarter  sessions,  judges,  appointed  by    . 

Greenhalge,  Governor,  on  rapid  transit  problem  . 

Metropolitan  Park  Commissioners  appointed  by 

Police  Commissioner  appointed  by  ... 


72 

24 

3^,  39 

34 

157 

82 

9 
12 

12,  13 
14 
18 

13° 
140 

8 
182 
92 
154 
i59 
114 
180 

98 
120 
122 

193 
68,  169 
162 
163 
156 
158 

8 
169 

124 
81 


Index. 


Governor  of  Massachusetts: 

Rapid  Transit  Commissioners  appointed  by 
Washburn,  Governor,  and  the  Great  Fire 
Water  Commissioners  appointed  by 

Governor's  Island       .... 

"Greater  Boston"      .... 

Green,  Samuel  Abbott,  Mayor 


Harbor  and  Land  Commission 

Harris,  Samuel  D. 

Hart,  Thomas  Norton,  Mayor 

Harvard  Bridge 

Harvard  University    .... 
Health,  Board  of         .... 
Hibbard,  George  Albee,  Mayor 
Home  rule  taken  away  from  Boston 
Hospital  Department 
Hyde  Park,  annexation  of  . 

Independence  League 
Industry,  House  of     ... 
Infirmary  Department 

Insane  Hospital 

Institutions  Department   . 
Institutions  Registration  Department 
Introductory 

Jail,  County,  completed  in  185 1 
Jamaica  Pond  Aqueduct  Company 

Lafayette,  General 

Land  Commissioners,  Board  of 

Leverett  Street  Jail    . 

Licenses  and  the  Licensing  Board 

Lighting  Department 

Lincoln,  Frederic  Walker,  Jr.,  Mayor 

Long  Island  Almshouse 

Lowell,  James  Russell 

Lunatic  Hospital,  South  Boston 

Lyman,  Theodore,  Jr.,  Mayor 

Lyman  School  for  Boys 

McKay,  Donald 

Mann,  Horace     .... 

Marcella  Street  Home 

Marine  Park        .... 

Martin,  Augustus  Pearl,  Mayor 

Massachusetts  Prison  Commission 

Matthews,  Nathan,  Jr., Mayor 


Page 

168,  170 
90 

98 
126,  127 

65.  197 

45 


193 

87 

49,  55,  57 

175 

22,  102,  122 

9,  10,  16,  67,  74 

.  60,  61 

16-18,  48,  50,  51,  56,  82 

150 
62 

60 

136,  138,  J39,  x40,  142,  144 
i47 
149 
64,  65,  147 
147 
5 

30 
94 

21 

32 

136 

179,  180 

166 

33,  34,  35,  36 
144,  147 

•  ■    96 
142 

•  22,  23,  24 
24 

192 
103,  104 
144,  147 
122,  126 

•  46,  47 
148 

17,  49,  52,  66,  71,  81,  122 
133,  !45,  157,  172,  192 


212 


Index. 


Mayor: 

Board  of  Health  appointed  by 

Finance  Commission  (first)  appointed  by 

Fire  Commissioners  appointed  by 

Officials  appointed  by 

Park  Commissioners  appointed  by 

Police  appointed  by    . 

Public  Library  trustees  appointed  by 

School  Committee,  relation  to 

Term  and  salary  of     . 

Mayors  of  Boston,  summary  of 

Medical  Examiners  for  Suffolk  County 

Metropolitan  Debt,  inquiry  about 

Metropolitan  Park  District 

Metropolitan  Sewerage  Board 

Metropolitan  Water  Board 

Metropolitan  Water  System 

Moon  Island,  sewer  outlet 

Mt.  Washington  Avenue  Bridge 

Muddy  River      .... 

Municipal  buildings    . 

Mystic  Waterworks    . 

Native  American  Party 
Norcross,  Otis,  Mayor 
North  End,  revolt  in 
North  Ferry 

O'Brien,  Hugh,  Mayor      . 
Old  Harbor  improvement 
Old  State  House 
Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  Mayor     . 

Palmer,  Albert,  Mayor 
Park  Commission 
Park  system,  Main,  Marine,  etc. 
Parkman,  George  F.,  bequest  of 
Parental  School,  West  Roxbury 
Pauper  Institutions  Department 
People's  Feny  Company  . 
Penal  Institutions  Department 
Peters,  Andrew  James,  Mayor. 
Phelan,  George  E. 
Phillips,  John,  Mayor 
Pierce  Farm,  West  Roxbury 
Pierce,  Henry  Lillie,  Mayor 
Police  Department     . 

Police  Pension  System 
Police  Protection 
Police  Strike  in  1919 


56 


Page 

69 
182 

.    91,  92 

199,  201 
121 

.  72,  So 
117 

109,  no 

199 

66 

iSS 

55 

124 

.        163 

,98,99,  100 

98-101 

162 

i75 
121, 122 

128 

98 

27,28 

36,37 

79 

173 


47>48 

126 
66 
19,21,22,  193 

•  45>46 
121 

125-127 

127 

147,  148 

147 
172 

147 

63-65,84 

196 

•  9>*9 
149 

39>4°,  43 

20,25,33,51 

75,84,180 

82 

•        •    75-84 
.        .  84 


Index. 


213 


Poor,  Overseers  of 
Population  of  Boston 

Population,  growth  in  100  years 
Prince,  Frederick  Octavius,  Mayor 
Printing  Department 
Public  Garden     . 
Public  Health      . 
Public  Lands 
Public  Library     . 
Public  Library,  Sunday  opening  of 
Public  Library  Trustees    . 
Public  Markets   .... 
Public  Parks  and  Recreation    . 
Public  Schools     .... 
Public  Works  Department 

Quarantine  Station     . 
Quincy,  Josiah  (first),  Mayor  . 

Quincy,  Josiah,  Jr.,  Mayor 
Quincy,  Josiah  (third),  Mayor. 
Ouincv  Market    .... 


Rapid  Transit     .... 

Real  Estate,  sales  of  by  city 

Receipts  of  City  in  100  years,  by  10-year  periods 

Reformation,  House  of 

Registrar,  City    .... 

Rice,  Alexander  Hamilton,  Mayor 

Roxbury,  annexation  of     . 

Roxbury  Canal    .... 


Page 

135-142, 145 

•  21,30,197 

198,205 

.'  205 

42,43^44 

55 

120, 125 

•  67-74 

129-134 

113-117 

40 

117 

177,  178 

118-12S 

102-111 

61,  160 

73 

9,  11,  19,  20,  21,  22,67,68 

75,86,  94, 103,  136,  177 

27,28,29 

53-55,72 

177,178 

168-171 

J32-i34 
206 

136, 139,  140,  142 

50 

33 

37,  105,  162 

131 


School  Centers  established 

School  Committee 

Schools,  Evening,  established  . 

Schoolhouse  Department  established 

Seaver,  Benjamin,  Mayor. 

Sewer  Department 

Sewer  Improvements 

Sewers,  Superintendent  of 

Shaw,  Lemuel      .... 

Shurtleff,  Nathaniel  Bradstreet,  Mayor 

Smith,  Jerome  Van  Crowninshield,  Mayor 

Soldiers'  Relief    .... 

Soldiers'  Relief  Department 

South  Bay,  lands  bordering 

South  Ferry         .... 

Statistics  Department  established 

Stebbins,  Solomon  B. 

Stony  Brook  sewer 


,16 


56,102- 


112 
112,  199 
106 
56 
31,32 
164 
161-164 
161 

9 

37,38 

32,33 

181 

65,182 

129,130 

173 

55 

44 

163 


214 


Index. 


Stony  Brook  Reservation 

Strandway,  construction  of 

Street  Betterment       .... 

Street  Commissioners,  Board  of 

Street  Department     . 

Street  Laying-Out  Department 

Street  Lighting 

Stuart  Street,  important  new  highway 
Suffolk,  County  of      ...        . 
Suffolk  County  Jail    .... 
Suffolk  School  for  Boys 

Sullivan,  James 

Sullivan,  William        .... 
Supreme  Judicial  Court     . 
Survey,  Board  of        ... 

Tax  Limit,  raising  of  ... 

Tax  on  Property,  growth  in  ioo  years 
Tax  Rate,  growth  in  ioo  years 
Town  meeting,  the  last,  1822    . 
Transit  Department  .... 
Treadwell,  Prof.  Daniel 
Tremont  Street  Subway    . 
Tukey,  Francis,  City  Marshal 

Uniform  Desertion  Act 
United  States  Census  of  Boston 
United  States  Engineer  Corps 
United  States  Public  Health  Service 
Ursuline  Convent,  destruction  of     . 

Vattemare,  Nicholas  A.     . 

Washington  Street  Tunnel 
Water  Front  Commission 

Water  Supply 

Water  Supply  System,  sale  to  State 
Webster,  Daniel          .... 
Wells,  Charles,  Mayor 
West  Boston  Bridge  .... 
Westboro  Reform  School  . 
West  End  Street  Railway  Company 
Western  Railroad  opened 
West  Roxbury,  annexation  of  . 
Whelton,  Daniel  A.,  Acting  Mayor 
White,  George  Robert,  Fund    . 
Wightman,  Joseph  Milner,  Mayor  . 
Winthrop,  Robert  C.         .        .        . 
Winthrop,  town  of      ...        . 
Wood  Island  Park      .... 
World  War 


Page 

125 

126 
152-160 

156 
158,159 

159 
165-167 


',22, 


5i,i 


58, 


84,  189 
149 
I48 

6 

22 

86,  187 

159 

64 

205 

205 

9,  10 

171 

94 
70,  171 

29,  3° 


3°>  J97 

34 

73 

24,  76 

113,  "4 

170 

59 
94-101 

56 

•     9,  3i 

22,  23,  75 

175, 176 
24 
168 
26 
40 
58 
95>  196 
34,  35 
114 
185,  186 
122 
181 


Boston  Centennial  Celebration 


April  19,  1922 

and 

May  1,  1922 


Commemorating  the  One  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the 

Organization  and  Inauguration  of  Boston's  First 

City  Government,  May    1 ,    1 822 


INTRODUCTION. 


That  the  anniversary  of  the  organization  of  Boston's 
first  city  government  should  be  fittingly  observed  was 
first  broached  in  a  letter  from  the  clerk  of  the  Bostonian 
Society,  Mr.  Charles  F.  Read,  in  April,  192 1,  addressed 
to  the  president  of  the  Public  Celebration  Association 
of  Boston,  Mr.  Addison  L.  Winship. 

After  consideration  of  the  project  at  an  Association 
meeting  called  for  that  purpose  in  May,  192 1,  a  letter 
was  sent  to  the  then  Mayor,  Hon.  Andrew  J.  Peters, 
recommending  that  a  proper  observance  of  the  anni- 
versary be  held,  and  that  a  temporary  committee  of  the 
Association  be  appointed  to  outline  a  tentative  program 
of  events  for  the  occasion. 

Mr.  Peters  responded  by  immediately  appointing 
such  a  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Addison  L. 
Winship,  Frank  Leveroni  and  E.  B.  Mero,  which  held 
several  meetings,  resulting  in  the  submission  of  a  pro- 
posed program  and  organization  recommendations, 
whereupon  Mayor  Peters,  selecting  Mr.  George  W. 
Coleman  as  chairman,  announced  the  Boston  Centen- 
nial Committee  personnel  as  follows: 

Chairman,  George  W.  Coleman.  Secretary,  E.  B.  Mero. 

Vice-Chairmen: 

Allan  Forbes,  Thomas  F.  Anderson,  E.  Fred  Cullen. 

Charles  A.  Coolidge.  Michael  J.  Murray. 

Henry  V.  Cunningham.  Mrs.  William  L.  Putnam. 

Carl  Dreyfus.  Charles  F.  Read. 

David  A.  Ellis.  Mrs.  Frances  E.  Slattery. 

Mrs.  Susan  W.  FitzGerald.  Edward  R.  Warren. 

Frank  Leveroni.  Addison  L.  Winship. 

This  committee  was  formally  organized  on  December 
12,  192 1,  and  after  soliciting  and  receiving  suggestions 
from  all  available  sources,  presented  to  the  Mayor 
alternate  plans,  involving  a  three-day  celebration  in 
one  instance,  and  a  single  day's  observance  in  the  other. 

While  these  plans  were  under  consideration,  a  city 

217 


218  1S22 — Boston — 1922. 

election  had  taken  place,  resulting  in  the  choice  of  Hon. 
James  M.  Curley  as  Mayor,  who  upon  his  induction 
into  office  promptly  confirmed  the  selections  of  his 
predecessor,  requesting  that  the  committee  continue 
its  work  without  change  of  personnel. 

Mayor  Curley  urged  upon  the  committee,  however, 
that  because  of  the  serious  unemployment  conditions 
then  existing,  and  the  rapidly  mounting  municipal 
expenditures,  it  might  be  better  that  the  centennial 
observance  create  no  special  holiday,  but  that  the 
official  exercises  be  conducted  in  conjunction  with  the 
historic  celebration  of  Patriots'  Day,  April  19,  with 
suitable  exercises  for  the  chronological  observance  on 
May  1.  Concurring  with  the  Mayor,  this  plan  was 
followed,  and  a  program  finally  adopted  which  re- 
sulted in  a  fitting  and  appropriate  centennial  celebra- 
tion. 

The  newspapers  generally  lent  willing  co-operation 
in  impressing  the  significance  of  the  event  upon  the 
public,  of  notable  importance  being  the  series  of  special 
articles  and  illustrations  in  the  Boston  Transcript,  and 
a  special  number  of  the  Boston  Globe  with  full-page 
reproduction  of  the  Boston  Patriot  and  Daily  Mercan- 
tile Advertiser  of  April  19,  1822. 

Several  of  the  banking,  industrial  and  public  service 
institutions  including  the  State  Street  Trust  Co.,  issued 
interesting  brochures  and  pamphlets  upon  Boston's 
history,  and  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  the  Bostonian 
Society  and  the  Public  Library  prepared  special 
historical  exhibits  which  were  continued  until  May  1 
and  were  well  attended  by  the  public. 


April  iqth  Celebration. 


219 


APRIL  19,   1922. 


The  first  official  exercises,  on  Patriots'  Day,  Wednes- 
day, April  19,  at  2.30  o'clock  p.  m.,  held  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  attracted  an  audience  comprising  representatives 
of  official,  social,  industrial,  civic  and  religious  Boston, 
which,  with  uniformed  delegations  from  the  Ancient 
and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  and  the  Fusilier 
Veteran  Association,  completely  filled  the  historic 
structure.  Of  particular  interest  in  these  exercises 
was  the  presence  of  Mrs.  Andrew  J.  Peters,  wife  of  the 
recent  Mayor  and  granddaughter  of  Boston's  first 
Mayor,  John  Phillips,  to  whom  Mayor  Curley  presented 
a  memento  of  the  occasion.  An  inspiring  incident  was 
the  introduction  of  ex- Mayor  Thomas  N.  Hart,  ninety- 
three  years  of  age,  who  thrilled  the  assemblage  with  a 
forceful,  patriotic  exhortation.  The  day's  exercises 
were  concluded  by  an  open-air  celebration  on  Boston 
Common,  consisting  of  a  band  concert,  brief  addresses 
by  the  Mayor  and  other  officials,  motion  pictures,  flag 
ceremony  and  community  singing.  The  official  Faneuil 
Hall  program  follows: 

Hon.  James  M.  Curley,  Mayor  of  Boston,  Presiding. 

Orchestral  Selections 2.30  to  3 

Opening  Prayer  .        .    Rev.  Edward  A.  Hcrton,  D.  D.,  Chaplain 
Anthem,  "America"  .  ....     Audience 

Hon.  Harvey  N.  Shepard 


Oration 

Selection 

Centennial  Poem 

Address 

"  Star-Spangled  Banner ' ' 


Orchestra 

Nathan  Haskell  Dole 

Rabbi  Harry  Levi 

.     Audience 


1S22  —  Boston  —  1922. 


OPENING   PRAYER. 


Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  Centuries: 

We  bring  our  devout  offering,  a  people's  gratitude 
and  praise.  One  century  ago  deep  civic  foundations 
were  laid,  from  which  the  beacon  light  of  Boston  has 
steadily  shone  over  the  land. 

Her  altar  fires  have  ever  burned  with  religion's  holy 
aspirations;  her  firesides,  sources  of  character  and 
citizenship,  have  been  blest  with  happiness;  her  fervid 
patriotism  has  inspired  generation  after  generation. 

Her  sons  and  daughters  have  opened  paths  of  progress 
and  prosperity  the  continent  over;  while  prophet 
leaders  in  great  causes  have  inspired  some  of  the 
Republic's  noblest  achievements  in  peace  and  in  war. 

The  glory  of  her  literature,  educational  ideals, 
manifold  humanities  has  crowned  her  name  with 
lustrous  honors.  Lovers  of  freedom  and  justice  from 
distant  lands  have  sought  her  shores,  and  by  loyalty 
and  zeal  have  imparted  uplifting  and  expanding  life 
to  her  welfare. 

O  Source  of  all  blessings,  help  our  thankful  hearts  to 
honor  this  great  past  by  fulfilling  it,  in  succeeding  years 
of  progressive  life,  laws  and  civilization. 

May  the  twentieth  century  find  our  beloved  city  a 
source  of  high  enterprises,  wide  vision,  and  perennial 
youth,  making  New  England  a  national  power  for 
liberty,  justice  and  fraternity. 

And  to  Thee,  God  of  our  Fathers  and  God  of  our 
present  life,  shall  be  our  praise  and  service,  in  His 
Holy  Name,  Amen! 


April  19TH  Celebration.  221 


ORATION. 


A  little  book  in  our  Public  Library,  entitled,  "Selec- 
tions from  the  Chronicle  of  Boston,"  published  in  1822, 
contains  upon  its  second  page  these  words :  ' '  forasmuch 
as  the  whole  body  of  the  people  could  not  leave  their 
several  callings  to  oversee  and  conduct  the  public 
business,  the  special  government  of  the  town  was  com- 
mitted to  the  elder  and  experienced  men,  who  were 
designated  by  the  name  of  Selectmen,  annually  elected 
by  the  people  assembled  in  one  place.  Now  after  this 
government  had  continued  for  192  years,  even  from  the 
first  settlement  of  the  country,  some  men  of  Boston 
began  to  desire  a  change.  For  they  said:  Is  not  this 
the  capital  of  a  great  state?  Is  it  not  rich  and  populous? 
Why  should  it  not  possess  such  advantages  as  Phila- 
delphia, as  New  York,  or  as  Paris,  or  London,  or  any  of 
the  capitals  of  a  state  or  country?  Shall  our  munic- 
ipality be  not  otherwise  distinguished  from  that  of  Hull, 
which  contains  but  twenty  voters,  than  by  the  number 
of  its  members?  So  they  drew  up  a  list,  of  the  evils 
endured  under  the  present  system  of  Town  government, 
and  a  list  of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  a  City 
government.  For  they  said:  'We  are  wise  men  and 
cunning,  and  we  will  work  upon  the  fears,  the  hopes, 
the  indolence,  the  curiosity,  and  the  proverbial  notion- 
ality  of  the  people,  exaggerating  both  the  evil  and  the 
good,  and  thus  produce  a  general  excitement.'  " 

Seemingly  the  author  did  not  altogether  approve  the 
change  from  a  town  to  a  city;  and  it  is  quite  certain 
that  many  of  the  good  people  of  Boston  did  not.  For 
over  forty  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution 
of  the  Commonwealth  in  1780  affairs  were  conducted 
in  the  same  simple  and  democratic  way  as  formerly, 
although  there  were  several  attempts  to  make  the 
change.  In  May,  1784,  on  the  petition  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants,  a  committee  of  thirteen,  selected 
with  great  care  from  among  the  most  influential  and 


222  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

popular  citizens,  and  including  Samuel  Adams  and 
James  Sullivan,  was  appointed  "to  consider  the  expedi- 
ency of  applying  to  the  General  Court  for  an  act  to 
form  the  town  of  Boston  into  an  incorporated  city"; 
and  June  4  it  reported  two  plans,  which  were  printed 
and  distributed  to  each  house,  the  town  meeting 
adjourning  to  the  17th.  At  this  meeting,  on  the  ques- 
tion of  making  any  alterations  in  the  form  of  govern- 
ment, there  was  "an  unabated  roaring,"  with  cries  of 
"No  corporation  —  No  Mayor  —  No  innovations " ; 
and  the  records  state:  "the  impatience  of  the  inhab- 
itants for  the  question  being  immediately  put,  pre- 
vented any  debate  thereon,  and  it  passed  in  the  negative 
by  a  great  majority."  In  December,  1791,  there  was 
raised  a  large  committee  of  inhabitants  of  leading 
influence  in  both  the  political  parties,  including  John 
Quincy  Adams,  Charles  Bulfinch  and  James  Sullivan, 
and  the  committee,  after  long  deliberation,  made  a 
report,  which  was  printed  and  distributed  in  handbills. 
The  town  meeting  then  adjourned  until  January  26, 
when  it  was  discussed  at  great  length.  But  the  people 
thought  themselves  very  well  off  as  they  were,  and  the 
proposal  was  rejected.  An  historian  of  Boston  has 
said  that  at  no  other  period  in  its  history  did  the  town 
have  a  more  zealous  and  devoted  body  of  citizens; 
and  that  the  long  war  had  not  exhausted  their  energies 
or  resources.  In  January,  1804,  another  large  com- 
mittee, equally  selected  from  both  political  parties, 
and  elected  by  the  wards,  was  instructed  to  report  any 
alteration  in  the  town  government  it  deemed  expedient. 
It  had  frequent  meetings,  and  in  March  reported  a 
system  of  municipal  government.  But  the  attachment 
to  town  government  was  not  diminished;  and,  after  a 
warm  and  tumultuous  debate,  the  result  was  a  decided 
negative.  In  October,  18 15,  a  city  form  of  government 
under  the  title  "The  Intendant  and  Municipality  of  the 
Town  and  City  of  Boston"  came  near  to  success,  being 
rejected  by  only  a  majority  of  thirty-one.  It  was 
apparent  however  that,  with  a  population  of  40,000 
and  7,000  qualified  voters,  it  was  impossible  calmly  to 
deliberate  and  act;  and  six  years  later  on  the  226.  of 
October  John  Phillips,  William  Sullivan,  Charles  Jack- 


April  19TH  Celebration.  223 

son,  Josiah  Quincy,  William  Prescott,  William  Tudor, 
George  Blake,  Henry  Orne,  Daniel  Webster,  Isaac 
Winslow,  Lemuel  Shaw,  Stephen  Codman  and  Joseph 
Tilden  were  appointed  a  committee  to  report  to  the 
town  "a  complete  system  relating  to  the  administra- 
tion of  the  town  and  county,  which  shall  remedy  the 
present  evils."  When  though  this  committee  made 
its  report,  December  10,  1821,  it  only  recommended 
that  forty-one  assistants  should  be  chosen  annually 
in  the  wards,  who  with  the  selectmen  should  form  a 
town  council,  and  that  the  town  should  be  a  county 
by  itself,  so  as  to  reduce  the  expenses  and  reform  cer- 
tain abuses  in  the  courts. 

After  considerable  debate,  Major  Benjamin  Russell, 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  distinguished  for  his  activity 
and  influence,  editor  of  the  Columbus  Centinel,  popular 
in  the  politics  of  the  town,  and  a  leader  among  the 
mechanics,  declared  that  the  committee  "had  not  gone 
far  enough  in  its  alterations,  and,"  in  his  opinion, 
' '  a  great  change  had  been  affected  in  the  minds  of  the 
inhabitants  on  the  subject  of  city  government";  and 
he  moved  "that  the  report  should  be  recommitted  to 
the  same  committee,  with  the  addition  of  one  person 
from  each  ward  of  the  town,  with  instructions  to  report 
a  system  for  the  government  of  the  town,  with  such 
powers,  privileges  and  immunities  as  are  contemplated 
by  the  amendment  of  the  constitution  of  the  common- 
wealth, authorizing  the  General  Court  to  constitute 
a  city  government."  This  motion  was  adopted,  and 
twelve  persons  were  added  to  the  former  committee, 
the  most  prominent  being  Mr.  Russell,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  delegates  from  Boston  to  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1820.  On  Monday,  the  last  day  of  the 
year,  the  committee  made  its  report,  written  by  Lemuel 
ShawT,  then  senator  from  Suffolk  County:  That  there 
should  be  an  executive  board  of  seven  persons,  called 
the  selectmen,  to  be  elected  by  the  inhabitants  on  a 
general  ticket;  a  chief  executive,  called  the  intendant, 
to  be  elected  by  the  selectmen;  and  a  Board  of  Assist- 
tants,  consisting  of  four  persons  from  each  of  twelve 
wards.  Faneuil  Hall  was  thronged  on  that  and  the  two 
following    days    with    a    noisy  and  excited    assembly, 


224  l%22 —  Boston — -1922. 

which  debated  with  much  heat,  but  with  general  good 
humor,  the  various  provisions  of  the  report.  "At 
times,"  says  an  eye  witness,  "a  stranger  would  almost 
fancy  himself  in  Bedlam,  and  that  the  moon  had  come 
nearer  the  earth  than  she  was  wont,  and  had  made 
some  men  mad."  The  word  intendant,  perhaps  taken 
from  Canada  or  perhaps  from  Charleston,  S.  C,  where 
the  city  was  divided  into  thirteen  wards,  each  of  which 
selected  a  warden,  and  the  thirteen  wardens  then 
elected  the  intendant,  had  in  those  days  a  peculiar  fasci- 
nation for  Bostonians.  Many  of  the  orators  vented 
their  sarcasm  on  the  word  mayor,  called  mare,  and  one 
declared  that  "a  mare  is  a  horse  and  he  had  as  lief  be 
called  a  horse  or  an  ass  as  a  mare."  President  was  the 
word  preferred  by  some  as  being  more  dignified;  but 
mayor  finally  carried  the  day.  The  name  of  selectmen 
was  changed  to  aldermen  and  the  name  of  the  Board  of 
Assistants  to  the  Common  Council.  Whether  Boston 
should  be  called  a  town  or  a  city  was  the  occasion  of 
prolonged  debate.  Mr.  Russell  argued  in  favor  of  the 
word  city  on  the  ground  that  the  people  of  Boston 
could  not  be  called  citizens  if  they  were  inhabitants  of 
a  town.  ' '  The  word  citizens, ' '  he  insisted  several  times, 
"was  derived  from  the  term  city."  City  was  agreed 
upon  by  a  small  majority.  The  amended  report  was 
submitted  to  the  inhabitants  and  was  adopted. 

Application  was  made  to  the  General  Court  by  a 
"Committee  authorized  and  instructed  by  the  Town 
of  Boston."  There  was  much  delay,  however,  in  the 
General  Court,  and  it  was  only  by  the  persistent  efforts 
of  the  friends  of  the  charter,  particularly  William 
Tudor,  that  on  the  very  last  day  and  in  the  closing  hour 
of  the  session  it  was  passed;  and  February  23,  1822, 
the  Governor  signed  the  act  establishing  the  City  of 
Boston.  The  administration  of  all  the  fiscal,  prudential 
and  municipal  concerns  of  the  city  was  vested  in  the 
mayor  and  aldermen  as  one  board,  and  the  common 
council  as  another  board  to  be  exercised  by  concurrent 
vote,  each  board  having  a  negative  upon  the  other. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  in  Faneuil  Hall,  March 
4,  1S22,  the  question  "Will  you  accept  the  charter?" 
was  decided  in  the  affirmative  by  a  vote  of  2,797  to 


April  19TH  Celebration.  225 

1,881,  and  the  result  was  announced  formally  three 
days  later  by  a  proclamation  from  Governor  Brooks. 

From  this  time  to  the  second  Monday  of  April,  the 
day  fixed  by  the  charter  for  the  choice  of  the  new 
government,  the  chief  question  was:  "Who  shall  be 
mayor? "  The  ward  meetings  were  opened  with  prayer 
at  nine  o'clock.  There  was  no  fixed  hour  for  closing  the 
polls  and  this  was  done  at  the  option  of  the  ward 
officers.  The  votes  were  3,708,  chiefly  divided  between 
Harrison  Gray  Otis  and  Josiah  Quincy,  neither  having 
a  majority,  and  Mr.  Otis  and  Mr.  Quincy  each  then 
declined  being  a  candidate.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Otis 
were  particularly  aggrieved,  because  Mr.  Quincy  had 
been  one  of  the  chief  opponents  of  the  charter.  He 
had  said,  "The  pure  democracy  of  a  town  meeting  was 
more  suited  to  the  character  of  the  people  of  New  Eng- 
land and  less  liable  to  abuse  and  corruption  than  a  more 
compact  government."  His  opinions  on  this  subject, 
when  he  became  mayor,  underwent  radical  modification. 
John  Phillips,  a  graduate  with  honor  from  Harvard 
College,  Fourth  of  July  orator  before  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town,  member  of  the  General  Court,  member  of 
the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1820,  chairman  of  the 
committee  which  reported  the  charter,  familiar  with 
public  business,  honest,  discreet,  and  of  sound  judg- 
ment, after  a  few  days  of  greater  excitement  was  then 
elected  mayor  with  great  unanimity,  receiving  2,500 
out  of  2,650  votes. 

The  new  government  was  organized  on  Wednesday, 
May  1,  1822,  with  a  solemnity  adapted  to  the  occasion, 
when  the  town  fathers  should  lay  down  their  sceptre 
and  the  new  officials  take  up  the  reins  of  government, 
and  the  town  meetings  of  Boston  should  be  ended  for- 
ever. Faneuil  Hall  "was  filled  to  excess,  and  many 
went  away  unable  to  obtain  seats  or  to  stand,  and  the 
galleries  were  filled  with  ladies,  the  number  estimated 
at  1,200."  A  platform  was  raised  at  the  west  end, 
with  seats  for  the  mayor,  aldermen  and  common  coun- 
cil, a  notable  body  of  men;  the  selectmen  of  the  past 
year,  with  other  town  authorities ;  and  the  chief  officers 
of  the  Commonwealth.  The  charter,  inclosed  in  a 
silver  case,  was  laid  upon  a  table  in  front  of  the  council. 


226  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

After  prayer  by  the  venerable  Thomas  Baldwin,  D.  D., 
the  oldest  settled  clergyman  in  Boston,  an  indefatigable 
worker  within  and  without  the  church,  the  oaths  of 
allegiance  and  of  office  were  administered  to  John 
Phillips,  the  mayor-elect,  by  Isaac  Parker,  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Commonwealth;  and  afterwards,  by  the  mayor 
to  the  aldermen  and  councilmen. 

The  chairman  of  the  selectmen,  Eliphalet  Williams, 
then  rose  and  addressed  the  meeting,  stating  the  grant 
of  a  city  charter  to  the  inhabitants  of  Boston;  their 
acceptance  of  it ;  their  election  of  the  executive  and  the 
members  of  the  legislative  boards;  and  the  presence 
of  these  persons.  In  conformity,  therefore,  with  the 
will  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  and  in  behalf  of  the 
selectmen  of  the  ancient  town,  he  delivered  into 
the  charge  of  the  new  authorities  the  town  records 
from  the  year  1634  and  the  title  deeds,  "documents 
and  evidences  of  the  real  and  personal  estate  belong- 
ing to  the  inhabitants,"  and  the  act  establishing  the 
city.  Mayor  Phillips,  after  paying  "a  just  tribute  to 
the  wisdom  of  our  ancestors  as  displayed  in  the  institu- 
tions for  the  government  of  the  town,  under  which  for 
nearly  two  centuries  so  great  a  degree  of  prosperity  had 
been  attained,  and  during  which  the  great  increase  of 
the  population  of  the  place  had  alone  made  this  change 
in  the  administration  of  its  affairs  essential"  also  said 
in  respect  to  those  "who  encouraged  hopes  which 
could  never  be  realized,  and  of  those  who  indulged 
unreasonable  apprehensions  in  regard  to  the  city 
charter,  that  they  would  derive  benefit  from  reflecting 
how  much  social  happiness  depended  on  other  causes 
than  the  provisions  of  a  city  charter.  Purity  of 
manners,  general  diffusion  of  knowledge,  and  strict 
attention  to  the  education  of  the  young,  and  above  all 
a  firm  practical  belief  of  that  divine  revelation  which 
has  affixed  the  penalty  of  increasing  anguish  to  vice 
and  promised  to  virtue  rewards  of  interminable  dura- 
tion, will  counteract  the  evils  of  any  form  of  govern- 
ment." Thus  was  established  the  new  order  in  a 
period  of  calm,  in  marked  contrast  to  the  fierceness  of 
the  previous  storms,  after  everybody  had  been  heard 


April  19TH  Celebration.  227 

and  very  few  had  refrained  from  speaking,  and  the  will 
of  the  majority  had  prevailed. 

Retiring  from  the  hall,  the  mayor  and  aldermen  and 
the  councilmen  met  in  separate  rooms,  and  the  council 
chose  their  president  and  clerk,  and  then  both  boards 
assembled  in  convention  and  unanimously  elected 
Samuel  Foster  McCleary  city  clerk.  They  then  in 
their  separate  chambers,  proceeded  to  establish  rules 
regulating  the  intercourse  between  the  two  boards ;  and 
passed  orders  continuing  in  force  the  by-laws  of  the  late 
town.  Mr.  McCleary,  who  was  born  on  Charter  street 
in  the  North  End,  had  been  clerk  of  the  Senate  since 
18 13  and  resigned  that  office  to  become  city  clerk  at  the 
request  of  his  friend,  Mayor  Phillips,  who  then  was 
president  of  the  Senate.  Mr  Phillips  had  made  it  a 
condition  of  his  acceptance  of  the  mayoralty  that  the 
clerk  of  the  Senate  should  be  translated  to  the  city 
clerkship,  an  office  which  was  second  only  in  importance 
and  dignity  to  that  of  the  mayor.  Mr.  McCleary 
continued  to  be  city  clerk,  by  the  almost  unanimous 
votes  of  twenty-nine  successive  city  councils,  until 
1852,  when  his  failing  health  compelled  him  to  decline 
a  re-election.  He  was  followed  by  his  son  of  the  same 
name,  who  held  the  office  for  thirty-one  years.  The 
holding  of  an  office,  which  depends  upon  election 
rather  than  upon  appointment,  does  not  always  mean 
frequent  changes. 

Faneuil  Hall,  where  the  people  had  gathered  for  so 
many  years  to  administer  their  affairs,  the  place  of  the 
ending  of  town  government  and  of  the  beginning  of  a 
new  and  untried  system,  is  the  most  widely  known 
building  ever  given  to  any  town  or  city  in  the  United 
States ;  and  it  was  the  gift  of  an  alien  in  faith  and  race 
from  those  who  received  it.  Sixty  years  after  the  com- 
ing of  the  Puritans  a  little  party  of  Hugenots  impelled 
by  similar  motives,  left  their  homes  in  Rochelle,  France, 
and  crossed  the  ocean  to  these  shores.  Among  them, 
or  coming  soon  after,  was  Andrew  Faneuil,  whose  busi- 
ness ventures  in  Boston  made  him  a  rich  man.  His 
death  in  February,  1738,  was  an  occasion  of  great  im- 
portance in  the  town  and  province.     His  nephew  and 


228  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

heir,  Peter  Faneuil,  was  careful,  we  are  told,  that  every 
propriety  of  the  occasion  should  be  observed  without 
stint.  Three  thousand  pairs  of  gloves  were  distributed 
at  the  funeral,  and  later  two  hundred  mourning  rings 
were  given  to  the  nearer  friends.  Peter  Faneuil  was 
thirty-eight  years  of  age  when  he  came  into  possesions 
of  his  uncle's  fortune,  which,  added  to  his  own  accumu- 
lations, made  him  the  merchant  prince  of  his  time. 
His  mansion  was  on  Tremont  street,  in  the  midst  of 
extensive  gardens,  opposite  King's  Chapel  Burial 
Ground. 

Seeing  the  disadvantage  under  which  trade  was  con- 
ducted, with  no  market  house  as  a  center  of  exchange 
"and  people  forced  to  go  out  upon  the  neck  and  spend 
a  great  part  of  the  day  in  providing  necessaries  for  their 
families,"  he  offered  to  give  the  town  a  building  for  a 
market;  and  347  citizens  petitioned  the  selectmen  to 
bring  his  plan  before  the  town,  setting  forth  that  Peter 
Faneuil  has  been  generously  "pleased  to  Offer  at  his 
Own  proper  cost  and  Charge,  to  Erect  and  Build  a 
noble  and  complete  Structure  or  Edifice  to  be  Improved 
for  a  Market  for  the  sole  use,  Benefit  and  advantage  of 
the  town."  July  4,  1740,  the  selectmen  issued  a  warrant 
calling  a  town  meeting  to  be  held  ten  days  later.  So 
numerous  were  the  voters  that,  as  on  former  occasions, 
an  adjournment  was  taken  to  the  Brattle  Street  Meet- 
ing House,  after  voting  "That  the  Thanks  of  the  Town 
be  given  to  Peter  Faneuil  for  his  Generous  Offer."  At 
the  adjourned  meeting  in  the  afternoon  a  "considerable 
debate"  ensued;  and  the  yeas  had  it  by  a  majority  of 
only  seven  votes ;  and  his  offer  would  have  been  refused 
had  there  not  been  added  to  the  proposal:  "and  we 
would  humbly  propose  that,  notwithstanding  the  said 
building  should  be  encouraged  and  come  to  effect,  yet 
that  the  market  people  should  be  at  liberty  to  carry 
their  marketing  wheresoever  they  please  about  the 
town  to  dispose  of  it."  The  meeting  instructed  the 
selectmen  to  "Wait  upon  Peter  Faneuil  Esquire,  and 
to  Present  the  Thanks  of  this  Town  to  Him,  as  Voted  in 
the  Forenoon;  and  also  to  Acquaint  Him,  that  the 
Town  have,  by  their  Vote,  come  to  a  Resolution  to 
Accept  of  his  Generous  Offer  of  Erecting  a  Market 
House  on  Dock  Square,  According  to  his  Proposal." 


April  19TH  Celebration.  229 

When  the  building  was  finished  and  the  keys  deliv- 
ered to  the  selectmen,  and  a  meeting,  September  13, 
1742,  was  held  in  the  town  house,  there  was  a  unanimous 
agreement  "to  accept  this  most  generous  and  noble 
benefaction  for  the  use  and  intention  they  are  designed 
for,"  and  to  put  upon  record  that  Peter  Faneuil  had 
"Erected  a  Noble  Structure  far  exceeding  his  first  Pro- 
posal, inasmuch  as  it  contains  not  only  a  large  and 
Sufficient  Accommodation  for  a  Market  place,  but  has 
also  Superadded  a  Spacious  and  Most  Beautiful  Town 
Hall  over  it,  and  Several  other  Convenient  Rooms, 
which  may  prove  very  Beneficial  to  the  Town."  The 
meeting  also  appointed  a  committee  "to  wait  upon 
Peter  Faneuil,  Esq.,  and  in  the  name  of  the  town  to 
render  him  their  most  hearty  thanks  for  so  bountiful  a 
gift,  with  their  prayers  that  this  and  other  expressions 
of  his  bounty  and  charity  may  be  abundantly  recom- 
pensed with  the  divine  blessing."  And  it  was  further 
voted,  on  motion  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  later  royal 
governor,  "that  in  testimony  of  the  town's  gratitude  to 
the  said  Peter  Faneuil  Esq.,  and  to  perpetuate  his 
memory,  the  hall  over  the  market  place  be  named 
Faneuil  Hall,  and  at  all  times  hereafter  be  called  and 
known  by  that  name."  And  then  a  "Motion  was 
made  by  Mr.  William  Price  that  as  a  further  Testimony 
of  the  Towns  Gratitude  to  the  said  Peter  Faneuil  Esq., 
The  Picture  of  the  said  Peter  Faneuil  Esq.,  may  be 
drawn  in  full  length  and  placed  in  the  said  Hall,  at  the 
Expense  of  the  Town.  Which  was  also  Unanimously 
Voted  in  the  Affirmative."  This  picture  perhaps  was 
carried  away  when  Boston  was  evacuated  by  the  British 
troops,  though  another  account  says  it  was  destroyed 
by  some  of  the  citizens  in  resentment  because  several  of 
the  Faneuil  family,  who  were  Loyalists,  left  the  town 
when  the  British  sailed  away.  The  great-hearted  donor 
did  not  live  long  after  his  gift  was  accepted,  as  he  died 
in  the  following  March  at  the  age  of  forty-two,  greatly 
lamented  by  his  fellow  citizens.  Schoolmaster  John 
Lovell  of  the  Boston  Latin  School  pronounced  his 
eulogy  in  the  hall,  March  14,  1743,  the  first  public  use 
of  the  building.  With  prophetic  forecast  he  concluded 
his  eulogy:  "May  Liberty  always  spread  its  joyful 
wings  over  this  place." 


230  1S22  —  Boston — -1922. 

The  market  did  not  become  popular  for  some  time, 
being  often  closed  for  longer  or  shorter  periods  but  the 
hall  above  was  in  constant  use.  Until  then  the  people 
had  been  dependent  upon  the  courtesy  of  the  pew 
holders  for  the  use  of  their  meeting  houses,  when,  as  was 
often  the  case,  the  town  hall  was  not  large  enough.  One 
of  the  earliest  gatherings  in  the  hall  was  October  10, 
1744,  to  celebrate  the  king's  coronation  day  "with  a 
concert  of  music."  In  May,  1747,  a  series  of  concerts 
were  given  there,  and  on  election  day  the  governor  and 
council  dined  there,  inaugurating  the  long  series  of 
banquets  for  which  the  hall  has  been  famous.  In  1760 
it  was  illuminated  to  celebrate  the  conquest  of  Canada ; 
and  when  the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed  the  town  voted, 
March  18,  1767,  that  the  hall  should  again  be  illum- 
inated, and  that  the  selectmen  should  make  provision 
for  the  people  to  drink  the  king's  health.  After  the 
passage  of  the  Port  Bill,  which  closed  the  harbor  to 
commerce,  when  not  a  fishing  boat  could  land,  or  a 
gundalow  float  down  the  Charles  or  Mystic,  with 
provisions  for  the  distressed  people,  when  contribu- 
tions of  food  were  arriving  from  every  one  of  the 
thirteen  colonies,  the  committee  made  their  distribu- 
tion from  Faneuil  Hall.  Israel  Putnam,  who  had 
fought  for  King  George  at  Ticonderoga,  drove  a  flock 
of  sheep  all  the  way  from  Connecticut  into  the  market 
place  around  the  hall.  In  the  summer  of  1778  John 
Hancock  gave  here  an  elaborate  entertainment  to  the 
officers  of  the  French  fleet  under  D'Estaing,  when 
toasts  were  drunk  to  the  French  King,  Congress, 
Washington,  the  Army,  and  the  Alliance  of  the  two 
countries.  In  178 1,  when  the  fleet  under  DeGrasse 
entered  the  harbor,  the  merchants  of  Boston  gave  a 
sumptuous  banquet  in  the  hall.  In  1784  a  banquet  was 
given  by  the  merchants  in  honor  of  Lafayette.  A  re- 
markable occasion  in  Faneuil  Hall  was  the  civic  festival 
in  January,  1793,  in  commemoration  of  the  successes  of 
their  French  brethren,  in  their  glorious  enterprise  for  the 
establishment  of  equal  liberty.  "An  elegant  and  sump- 
tuous Entertainment  was  provided,  at  which  near  three 
hundred  partook,  citizen  S.  Adams  acting  as  President, 
and  the  citizen  Letombc,  as  Vice  President."  At  the 
west  end  of  the  hall  over  the  head  of  the  president, 


April  19TH  Celebration.  231 

"arose  an  obelisk,  bearing  in  front  the  figure  of  Liberty, 
her  left  hand  supporting  her  insignia,  and  her  extended 
right  hand  displaying  The  Rights  of  Man  -  -  Under  her 
feet,  the  badges  of  Civil  and  Ecclesiastical  Despotism,  a 
crown,  sceptre,  mitre  and  chains,  broken  in  pieces  - 
Over  her  head,  a  descending  cherub  presented  in  its 
right  hand  a  wreath,  as  The  Reward  of  Virtue,  and  in  its 
left  hand,  The  Palm  of  Peace.  ...  A  garter 
annexed,  emphatically  expressed:  Thus  we  go  to  the 
stars.  Over  the  whole,  the  benign  Eye  of  Providence 
appeared  to  view  with  approbation  the  scene,  and  to 
express  I  guard  the  faithful.  The  right  side  of  the 
Obelisk  displaved  the  American,  and  the  left  the  French 
flags." 

We  come  to  an  historic  evening  in  1837.  In  Alton  in 
Illinois  a  mob,  inflamed  against  an  abolitionist  news- 
paper, had  destroyed  three  printing  presses.  Citizens 
of  Boston  petitioned  for  the  use  of  Faneuil  Hall,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  William  Ellery  Channing  heading  the  petition, 
to  denounce  this  assault  upon  the  freedom  of  the  press. 
The  petition  at  first  was  refused,  but  subsequently  was 
granted.  Several  speeches  had  been  made,  the  speakers 
dwelling  upon  the  great  principle  involved,  when  the 
Attorney- General  of  the  Commonwealth,  sitting  in  the 
front  gallery,  rose  and  said  that  the  people  of  Alton 
had  as  much  right  to  break  Lovejoy's  printing  press 
and  throw  it  into  the  river  as  the  people  of  Boston  had 
to  throw  the  detested  tea  into  the  harbor;  and  he  was 
applauded  loudly  by  a  portion  of  the  audience.  When 
he  had  finished,  a  tall  young  man,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard,  who  had  studied  law,  but  who  had  not  had 
much  practice,  Wendell  Phillips  by  name,  son  of  our 
first  mayor,  walked  up  the  steps  to  the  platform  and 
said :  ' '  When  I  heard  the  gentleman  lay  down  principles 
placing  the  murderers,  incendiaries  and  rioters  of  Alton 
side  by  side  with  Otis  and  Hancock,  with  Quincy  and 
Adams,"  pointing  to  their  portraits,  "I  thought  those 
pictured  lips  would  have  broken  into  voice  to  rebuke 
the  recreant  American,  the  slanderer  of  the  dead. "  In 
1848  William  H.  Seward,  then  the  rising  statesman  of 
the  Empire  State,  and  a  tall  and  ungainly  man  with  a 
homely  countenance,  unknown  to  fame,  Abraham 
Lincoln  by  name,   made  speeches  in  this  hall.     The 


232  i&22  —  Boston — 1922. 

most  impressive  of  all  the  scenes  ever  witnessed  here 
was  that  in  October,  1852,  when  the  hall  was  draped  in 
black  upon  the  death  of  Webster;  and  there  is  almost 
no  eulogistic  oratory  to  be  compared  with  that  which 
then  fell  from  the  lips  of  Edward  Everett. 

There  is  no  other  hall  in  the  country  so  notable  for 
the  men  who  have  gathered  upon  its  platform;  names 
illustrious  in  the  history  of  the  Commonwealth  and  of 
the  Republic:  Samuel  Adams,  Joseph  Warren,  John 
Adams,  Lafayette,  Isaac  Hull,  captain  of  the  frigate 
"Constitution,"  lovingly  christened  "Old  Ironsides," 
who  destroyed  the  British  frigate  "Guerriere,"  and 
arrived  in  our  harbor  with  his  prisoners;  James  Law- 
rence, whose  dying  words  were,  "Don't  give  up  the 
ship";  Monroe,  Jackson,  Daniel  Webster,  Charles 
Sumner,  John  A.  Andrew,  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
Caleb  Cushing,  Rufus  Choate,  George  S.  Hi] Hard, 
Louis  Kossuth,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Theodore 
Parker. 

A  destructive  fire,  January  13.  176 1,  broke  out  in  a 
shop  on  Dock  square,  and  "crossed  the  street  to  that 
stately  edifice,  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  the  whole  of 
which  was  soon  consumed,  excepting  the  brick  walls 
which  are  left  standing."  Two  years  later  the  work 
of  rebuilding  without  change  in  its  original  dimen- 
sions, 100  feet  by  40,  was  so  far  completed  that  the 
townspeople  met  in  the  hall  March  14,  1763,  when 
James  Otis,  moderator  of  the  meeting,  delivered  an 
appropriate  address.  A  large  part  of  the  cost  of  re- 
building was  raised  by  the  sale  of  lottery  tickets,  some 
of  which  bear  the  signature  of  John  Hancock.  What  a 
curious  thing  it  is  that  the  Puritans  allowed  money  to 
be  raised  for  almost  every  object,  charitable,  educa- 
tional and  philanthropic,  by  the  now  denounced  method 
of  lotteries.  In  1806  the  building  was  doubled  in  width 
by  removing  the  north  side,  while  the  south  side  was 
not  disturbed,  it  being  as  firm  as  when  erected  in  1742. 
The  walls  were  carried  to  a  greater  height  to  admit  of 
the  galleries,  which,  resting  upon  Doric  columns,  were 
added  on  three  sides  at  the  level  of  the  old  ceiling. 
This  building,  completed  according  to  the  plans  of 
Charles    Bulfinch,    remained    substantially    the    same 


April  19TH  Celebration.  233 

until  the  summer  of  1898,  when  it  was  reconstructed 
with  fireproof  material.  Although  but  a  small  portion 
of  the  Faneuil  Hall,  which  gratified  the  eye  of  the 
generous  townsman  who  gave  it  to  Boston,  is  still 
standing,  it  yet  is  Faneuil  Hall,  with  all  its  sacred  asso- 
ciations, as  "Old  Ironsides"  after  its  many  changes 
is  the  same  frigate  with  its  story  of  heroic  deeds. 

Would  time  permit  it  would  be  both  interesting  and 
profitable  to  consider  how  the  people  of  Boston  admin- 
istered their  affairs  as  a  town  for  nearly  two  hundred 
years.  They  realized  that  a  government  of  the  people 
could  be  maintained  only  by  a  free  discussion  of  every 
question  affecting  their  interests;  and  no  other  town 
was  more  keenly  alive  to  its  rights  and  liberties.  Our 
Supreme  Judicial  Court  has  said  that  it  was  an  "inde- 
pendent democracy."  It  was  its  own  master;  and  it 
chose  for  itself  what  it  would  or  would  not  do ;  and  its 
powers  were  limited  only  ' '  by  the  opinion  of  the  inhabit- 
ants as  to  what  was  best  to  be  done."  It  determined 
who  could  reside  within  its  limits  and  where,  how 
much  the  grocer  and  the  butcher  should  ask  for  their 
goods,  what  wages  should  be  paid  in  the  shipyards, 
whether  Thomas  Brown  could  bring  a  suit  against 
John  Smith,  and  indeed  "in  regard  to  all  such  affairs 
as  concerned  none  but  themselves."  In  1763  the 
General  Court  advised  Boston  to  build  a  sea  wall  as  a 
protection  against  the  approach  of  an  enemy  by  sea; 
and,  as  happened  more  than  once,  the  town  was  unwill- 
ing to  acquiesce,  voting  "not  to  carry  on  so  extensive 
an  undertaking."  In  1773,  in  a  great  gathering  in 
Faneuil  Hall,  after  a  report  by  Samuel  Adams,  vindi- 
cating the  right  of  the  town  to  manage  its  own  affairs, 
the  people  unanimously  declared  that  the  town  meeting 
would  consider  as  town  affairs  whatever  provision  of  the 
General  Court  touched  the  town,  and  would  act  accord- 
ingly. They  believed  that  no  matter  either  of  politics 
or  religion  was  beyond  the  bounds  of  their  right  and 
duty.  It  was  in  these  times  that  the  little  town  fear- 
lessly entered  upon  one  of  the  most  memorable  struggles 
of  history,  that  between  Boston  on  the  one  hand  and 
George  III.,  king  of  England,  on  the  other.  In  Faneuil 
Hall  the  people  voted  to  abstain  wholly  from  the  use 


234  I§22  —  Boston — 1922. 

of  tea;  and  after  the  Boston  Massacre  to  demand  of 
the  royal  governor  the  instant  removal  of  the  British 
troops;  and  that  most  important  step  in  bringing  into 
existence  a  new  nation;  the  appointment  of  a  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence  "to  state  the  rights  of  the 
colonists  as  men  and  as  Christians;  and  to  communi- 
cate and  public  the  same  to  the  several  towns  and  to 
the  world." 

The  town  meetings  often  voted  instructions  to  their 
selectmen  and  also  to  their  representatives  in  the 
General  Court.  The  instructions  of  1764  to  the  rep- 
resentatives inform  them  that  the  townsmen  "have 
delegated  to  you  the  power  of  acting  in  their  publick 
Concerns  in  general  as  your  own  prudence  shall  direct 
you.  Always  reserving  to  themselves  the  Constitu- 
tional Right  of  expressing  their  mind  and  giving  you 
such  Instruction  upon  particular  Matters  as  they  at 
any  time  shall  Judge  proper."  To  their  selectmen 
they  said:  That  a  "meeting  be  held  by  you,  at  least 
monthly,  seriously  to  consider  these  things,  for  the 
good  of  the  town,  Glory  of  God,  and  establishing  truth 
and  love  among  us."  The  selectmen,  or  town's  men 
as  they  were  called  at  first,  in  the  earliest  times  at  least 
received  no  pay  for  their  services  and  also  paid  their 
own  expenses.  But  in  1637  it  was  agreed  that  the 
charges  for  the  meetings  of  the  town's  men  should  be 
borne  by  the  town,  and  they  soon  found  it  convenient 
to  "refresh"  themselves  after  their  arduous  duties; 
and  a  custom  arose  which  was  followed  long  after 
Boston  became  a  city.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  town 
that  during  all  this  long  period,  whenever  a  debt  was 
incurred,  it  was  paid  as  quickly  as  possible;  so  that, 
when  Boston  became  a  city,  it  would  have  begun  with 
no  outstanding  debt  of  any  kind  had  not  a  small  sum 
just  been  borrowed  by  the  county  treasurer  toward 
the  cost  of  a  courthouse  and  jail. 

Boston  is  the  largest  community  which  ever  main- 
tained the  town  organization,  and  also  the  most  able 
and  intelligent.  No  other  town  ever  played  so  con- 
spicuous a  part  in  connection  with  important  events; 
and  in  all  history  there  has  been  no  other  so  interesting 
manifestation  of  the  activity  of  the  people's  control. 


April  igxH  Celebration.  235 

The  people  themselves  constituted  the  government; 
and  they  surrendered  with  reluctance  the  management 
of  their  concerns,  which  they  had  maintained  for  nearly 
two  centuries.  They  clung  to  the  town,  says  Mr. 
Quincy  in  his  History  of  Boston,  because  "In  town 
meetings  their  measures  of  opposition  to  the  preten- 
tions of  Great  Britain  had  been  originated,  being 
agitated  and  adopted,  and  the  affection  of  the  inhab- 
itants to  the  forms  under  which  their  efforts  had  been 
crowned  with  success,  increased.  The  name  and 
character  of  town  became  identified  with  the  idea  of 
popular  power  and  civil  liberty."  Naturally  there- 
fore they  watched  with  jealousy  the  measures  of  the 
new  authorities;  and  their  feelings  are  shown  in  the 
motto  adopted  for  the  municipal  seal,  devised  by  John 
Davis,  Judge  of  the  United  States  Court  for  the  Dis- 
trict of  Massachusetts,  adapted  from  the  invocation 
by  Solomon,  King  of  Israel,  at  the  dedication  of  the 
Temple:  Sicut  patribus,  sit  Deus  nobis,  as  God  was 
with  our  fathers,  so  may  he  be  with  us. 

The  novel  experiment  was  begun  by  our  first  mayor 
with  circumspection  and  respect  for  ancient  precedents, 
and  he  succeeded  in  overcoming  most  of  the  prejudice 
against  the  new  form  of  government.  "His  aim  was  to 
allure,  not  to  compel,  to  reconcile  by  gentle  reform,  not 
to  revolt  by  startling  innovation  so  that  while  he  led  us 
into  a  new  and  fairer  creation,  we  felt  ourselves  sur- 
rounded by  the  scenes  and  comforts  of  home."  Since 
towards  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  his  health 
began  to  fail,  he  declined  a  re-election,  and  May  29, 
1823,  he  was  stricken  by  disease  of  the  heart,  in  the 
fifty-third  year  of  his  age.  Public  honors  were  paid  by 
all  parties  to  his  memory.  He  lived  in  stormy  times, 
yet  such  was  the  elevation  of  his  character  and  the  kind- 
ness of  his  heart,  that  he  stands  a  model  for  that  high 
"office  which  his  wisdom,  prudence,  virtue,  integrity 
and  eloquence  adorned." 

His  successor,  Josiah  Quincy,  chosen  almost  unani- 
mously, could  take  a  bolder  course.  He  believed  the 
hour  had  arrived  for  more  radical  change  and  more 
permanent  improvements,  to  develop  the  resources  of 
the  city ;  and  since  he  felt  it  desirable  that  he  should  be 


236  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

conversant  with  every  part  of  the  business  of  the  city 
he  made  himself  chairman  of  every  one  of  the  commit- 
tees of  the  board  of  aldermen  and  took  the  laboring  oar 
into  his  own  hands.  The  novelty  of  the  office,  the 
diversity  of  opinions  relative  to  its  powers,  and  his 
extensive  public  improvements  and  many  new  institu- 
tions, rendered  his  administration  one  of  peculiar  trial 
and  difficulty.  It  was,  however,  powerfully  supported, 
and  to  general  satisfaction,  as  was  shown  by  six  succes- 
sive elections.  But  beneath  there  was  growing  dis- 
content, and  the  complaint  grew  louder:  "the  mayor 
assumes  too  much  upon  himself.  He  places  himself  at 
the  head  of  all  committees.  He  prepares  all  reports. 
He  permits  nothing  to  be  done  but  by  his  agency.  No 
place  but  what  is  vexed  by  his  presence."  He  failed  of 
re-election;  and  January  5,  1829,  there  began  a  new 
administration.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  first 
change  in  the  charter,  to  provide  that  the  elections 
should  take  place  in  December  and  the  year  commence 
the  first  Monday  of  January,  was  made  by  the  General 
Court  only  after  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  had  been 
called  and  a  vote  passed  by  them  authorizing  the 
application  for  this  purpose. 

It  is  not  for  me  now  to  go  further  in  the  account  of 
successive  administrations  of  our  city  government. 
They  were  tried  again  and  again  by  great  events;  and 
the  verdict  of  history  must  be  that  they  stood  the 
trial  well  and  successfully.  There  have  been  many 
changes  in  form;  and  doubtless  there  are  many  still 
to  come.  For  a  hundred  years  we  have  been  a  city. 
The  record  is  closed,  and  nothing  we  now  can  say  or 
do  will  alter  it.  The  present  is  ours,  and  the  immediate 
future  will  be  of  our  making. 

To  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  by  the  will  of  the  people  has  been 
committed  the  superintendence  of  the  affairs  of  this 
city;  and  happily  you  already  have  shown  that  you 
are  not  insensible  to  the  obligations  which  rest  upon 
you.  Boston  does  not  hold  the  exalted  position  it 
ought  to  hold,  and  it  now  is  your  high  privilege  to  lead 
us  onward  and  upward.  It  is  no  mean  city.  It  rightly 
is  proud  of  its  glorious  record  and  it  has  loyally  pre- 
served   its    historic    landmarks;     many    of   its    public 


April  19TH  Celebration.  237 

edifices,  its  churches,  its  business  blocks,  its  residences 
are  among  the  best  in  our  country;  our  fire  and  police 
protection,  the  regulation  of  traffic  in  our  streets,  our 
park  system,  our  library  and  its  branches  and  many 
other  things,  needless  for  me  to  name,  are  admirable; 
and  yet  there  is  one  thing  lacking,  essential  above  all 
to  the  dignity  of  a  great  city:  complete  and  untram- 
melled home  rule.  No  community  of  free  men  can 
secure  from  sources  outside  a  better  government  than 
it  can  make  of  itself.  Whatever  temporary  relief  may 
be  had  the  only  kind  of  government  with  which  we 
ought  to  be  satisfied  must  be  our  own  government. 
Whether  the  choice  of  the  people  be  wise  or  unwise, 
the  right  to  make  it  is  theirs;  and  no  sincere  believer 
in  a  government  by  the  people  should  tolerate  any 
system  which  hampers  or  impairs  the  full  exercise  of 
this  right. 

Boston  has  not  suffered  greatly  in  material  prosperity 
from  its  domination  by  the  state;  for  it  is  one  of  the 
best  governed  cities  in  the  country.  But  it  does  suffer 
in  its  self-respect.  A  competent  and  friendly  student 
has  said:  "Boston  is  said  to  get  good  results  from  its 
state  commissions  that  exercise  municipal  functions  in 
the  community  constituting  Greater  Boston.  But  the 
effect  upon  the  self-governing  capacities  Of  the  people 
of  Boston  would  seem  to  an  outsider  to  be  demoraliz- 
ing. In  the  absence  of  the  larger  responsibilities  such 
functions  as  are  left  to  the  city  itself  are  likely  to  be 
performed  less  and  less  efficiently,  with  the  inevitable 
result  that  the  state,  in  the  interest  of  immediate  good 
government,  must  undertake  to  do  directly  more  and 
more  of  the  work  of  the  municipality."  Boston  should 
be  a  free  city,  master  of  its  own  destiny,  in  full  control 
of  its  own  affairs,  its  streets,  its  docks,  its  parks,  and  its 
franchises.  Are  the  people  of  Boston  less  capable  of 
furnishing  and  administering  their  own  water  supply, 
for  instance,  than  are  the  people  of  New  York;  or  are 
they  so  much  less  intelligent  than  the  people  of  Detroit 
that  they  are  incapable  of  managing  the  franchises  for 
the  use  of  their  streets? 

I  have  no  patience  with  the  plea  that  the  presence  of 
a  large  foreign  element  in  Boston  interferes  with  this 


238  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

method  of  administration.  There  is  a  large  foreign 
element  in  Glasgow,  and  it  is  one  of  the  best  governed 
cities  in  the  world.  Experience  at  home  is  equally 
against  this  contention.  St.  Louis  is  full  of  Germans, 
Minneapolis  of  Scandinavians,  Pittsburgh  of  Scotch. 
Each  of  them  is  subject  to  far  less  thraldom  than  is 
Boston.  Let  us  also  give  up  the  false  notion  that  the 
common  people  are  not  to  be  trusted.  It  is  the  poor 
who  from  poverty  itself  are  compelled  to  endure  the 
greater  part  of  the  evils  of  misrule.  Show  them  this, 
and  they  will  be  found  ready  to  compel,  through  their 
votes,  the  changes  which  the  lives  of  their  children  and 
the  decency  of  their  homes  demand. 

If  Boston  were  secure  against  outside  interference,  at 
liberty  to  work  out  its  own  welfare  in  its  own  way,  the 
very  necessity  of  the  case  would  develop  an  enlightened 
public  opinion  and  good  government.  It  is  only  by 
democratic  methods  that  good  city  government  can  be 
achieved  or  maintained.  Mr.  Justice  Brewer  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  said: 
' '  Thoughtful  men  more  and  more  see  that  the  wise  thing 
is  to  cast  upon  each  community  full  responsibility  for 
the  management  of  its  local  affairs,  and  that  the  great 
danger  to  free  government  is  in  the  centralization  of 
power."  It  was  one  of  the  best  of  the  governors  of  the 
Commonwealth,  Governor  Crane,  who  said  twenty 
years  ago:  "Cities  and  towns  should  be  let  alone  to 
work  out  their  own  municipal  problem."  And  in 
keeping  with  this  sound  principle,  in  the  same  year  he 
returned  four  acts  relative  to  Boston,  without  his  sanc- 
tion, because  they  were  "based  upon  the  petition  of  pri- 
vate citizens,  without  the  official  endorsement  of  the 
mayor  and  city  council." 

Boston,  in  all  its  history,  has  been  conspicuous  for 
patriotism  and  devotion  to  liberty  and  for  sacrifice 
in  its  behalf.  It  was  the  first  to  protest  against  the 
tyranny  of  the  British  Crown;  and  it  was  in  this  hall 
that  the  Revolution  was  organized  which  achieved  our 
independence.  It  ever  has  been  foremost  in  those 
humanities  which  mark  the  progress  of  civilization: 
benevolent  institutions,  free  schools,  and  moral  culture. 
Through  the  enterprise  and  the  integrity  of  its  people 


April  19TH  Celebration.  239 

it  has  attained  great  material  prosperity;  and  it  is  still, 
in  moral  and  intellectual  influence,  upon  which  all 
things  hang  in  a  free  country,  what  Cotton  Mather 
said  it  was:  "The  great  metropolis  of  all  America." 
As  Emerson  has  said:  "Boston  is  not  an  accident, 
nor  a  windmill,  nor  a  railroad  station,  nor  an  army  bar- 
racks grown  up  by  time  and  luck  to  a  place  of  wealth, 
but  a  seat  of  humanity,  of  men  of  principle,  obeying 
a  sentiment  and  marching  loyally  whither  that  should 
lead  them."  Let  us  strive  that  these  virtues  may 
ever  abide  with  us.  May  the  sacred  fire  of  liberty, 
kindled  by  the  founders  of  Boston,  receive  always  the 
constant  and  watchful  care  of  its  people ;  and  when  the 
work  of  the  coming  century  is  reviewed,  may  it  be  the 
record  of  increased  usefulness  and  of  faithful  steward- 
ship, worthy  of  our  historic  past.  As  God  was  with  our 
fathers  so  may  he  be  with  us.  A  grateful  people  lift 
to  Thee  their  prayer:  Lord  God  of  Hosts  be  with  us  yet. 


?4o  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 


BOSTON   CITY.* 


I. 

To  the  town  of  his  birth  the  heart  of  a  man  ever  turns 

As  a  son  to  the  Mother  who  bore  him,  who  nurst  him,  who  taught 
him ; 
The  torch  of  his  love  that  was  kindled  by  hers  ever  burns 

Undimmed  by  what  fog  of  forgetfulness  Life  may  have  brought 
him ; 
He  may  wander  afar,  but  as  drawn  by  a  star  how  he  yearns 
To  win  back  to  his  home  with  all  that  his  Fate  may  have  wrought 
him! 

If  his  quest  after  wealth  has  been  blest,  he  will  lavish  his  gains 
That  his  name  and  his  fame  may  be  dear  in  remembrance 
forever ; 
If  his  life  meet  with  shipwreck  and  nothing  of  virtue  remains, 
With  his  last  fading  powers,   with  his  remnant   of  will,   he 
endeavors 
To  crawl  back  to  the  scenes  of  his  childhood,  forgetting  his  pains, 
That  distance  his  dust  from  the  dust  of  his  Sires  may  not  sever ! 

And  the  Town,  like  a  Mother,  takes  into  her  generous  heart 

All  the  children  of  others  to  foster  and  comfort  and  nourish; 
Shares  their  pleasures  and  griefs,  in  their  triumphs  and  failures 
takes  part; 
She  gives    aid    in    affliction;    unjealous,    is    glad    when    they 
flourish : 
And  these  sons  by  Adoption  bring  Eloquence,  Industry,  Art, 
And  they  vie  with  their  native-born  brothers  their  Mother  to 
cherish. 

II. 

We  are  gathered  together  this  day  to  acclaim 

The  Century-plant  of  our  City's  fair  fame! 

She  has  grown  through  the  years  in  a  splendor  of  glory 

And  our  hearts  thrill  with  pride  at  the  stride  of  her  story. 

If  we  look  to  the  Past,  when  her  hills  crowned  with  wood  — 

Save  by  eagle-eyed  sachem,  unvisited  stood, 

It  must  seem  like  the  palace  Aladdin's  djinns  furnished 

When  the  black  tarnished  lamp  in  his  hovel  he  burnished; 

*  This  poem  was  read  by  its  author,  Nathan  Haskell  Dole,  in  Faneuil  Hall. 


April  19TH  Celebration.  241 

Such  a  Town  to  create  from  the  marsh  and  the  bay  — 

With  magnificent  avenues  rolling  away, 

With  her  marble-white  towers,  her  noble  museums, 

With  her  forest  of  churches  — -incarnate  "Te  Deums," 

Her  bazaars  crammed  with  wealth,  her  luxurious  homes, 

With  her  libraries  holding  the  rarest  of  tomes, 

With  her  hospitals  kindling  new  hope  for  the  curable 

Or  making  Old  Age  and  its  trials  endurable, 

With  her  culture  enshrined  in  bronze  and  in  stone  — 

What  a  pile  from  the  hut  of  lone  Blaxton  has  grown ! 

Here's  a  roster  of  names  for  our  offspring  to  cherish: 

Whose  works  and  whose  deeds  from  the  Earth  shall  not  perish: 

Princely  merchants  who  live  in  munificent  gifts; 

Fiery  orators  showing  the  Truth  that  uplifts; 

Great  leaders  in  Causes  whose  prospects  of  winning 

Seemed  hopeless  indeed  in  their  feeble  beginning  — 

The  champions  bold  of  the  down-trodden  slave 

And  Womanhood's  knights  glad  derision  to  brave, 

With  women  among  them  ■ —  what  name  blazes  brighter 

Than  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Wit,  Poet  and  Fighter!  ■ — 

Parker,  Garrison,  Phillips  and  Sumner,  whose  words 

Went  forth  from  their  mouths  like  glittering  swords. 

This  sacrosanct  Hall  has  rocked  with  the  thunders 

Of  plaudits  evoked  by  the  soul-stirring  wonders 

Of  Eloquence  voicing  the  needs  of  the  Hour, 

When  the  weak  became  strong  and  the  Word  grew  to  power. 

Famous  poets  their  songs  to  all  nations  have  carried: 

Here  Emerson,  Longfellow,  Lowell  have  tarried; 

Here  Holmes  flashed  his  wit  without  malice  or  sting, 

And  O'Reilly  and  Joyce  brought  their  genius  to  sing, 

With  Whittier,  Lyrics  of  Freedom  —  Defenders, 

(Now  haloed  with  Victory's  star-blazoned  splendors) 

Of  suffering  peoples  all  over  the  world, 

Wherever  the  challenge  of  battle  was  hurled. 

Here  first  from  the  scalpel  —  the  tender  flesh  rifted  — 

The  hideous  terror  of  mortals  was  lifted 

And  a  calm  Anesthesia  bent  to  bestow 

Her  mercy  in  place  of  an  agonized  woe ! 

What  city  gives  more  to  those  thirsting  for  knowledge? 

Sweet  fountains  of  solace,  the  popular  college, 

The  perfume  of  Music,  the  marvels  of  Art, 

The  freedom  of  Nature  for  all  set  apart, 

With  the  joy  of  the  hills  and  the  sea's  boundless  reaches, 

The  forests  and  flowers  and  the  wave-beaten  beaches ! 

In  the  heart  of  the  Town  glows  the  Common,  where  cows 
Of  our  Puritan  Forefathers  once  used  to  browse, 
And  the  Pond  where  they  drank  still  hallows  the  hollow 
And  the  paths  that  they  made  are  the  malls  that  we  follow; 


242  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 

And  the  hill  where  the  Patriots'  dauntless  young  sons 

Defied  General  Gage  and  the  Britishers'  guns 

Si  ill  rings  with  the  shouts  of  the  sturdy  West-enders 

Who  startle  the  frogs  with  their  "tiddlcdybenders," 

While  the  bright  golden  dome  of  the  State  House  looks  down 

On  the  City  grown  great  as  it  looked  on  the  Town ! 

Who  can  tell  in  a  volume  the  fame  of  our  City, 
Condense  all  its  Century-deeds  in  a  ditty? 
The  poet,  the  orator  hints  at  the  tale, 
And  the  wings  of  his  flight  must  falter  and  fail  — 
'Tis  the  ray  of  the  Sun  in  a  pool  by  a  river, 
'Tis  a  fragment  of  plume  in  an  arrow-full  quiver ! 


III. 

Yet  a  chaplet  of  praise  we  would  ardently  lay  at  the  feet 
Of  this  excellent  Mother  of  ours  as  a  symbol  and  token 

Of  love,  consecration,  and  sacrifice  as  it  is  meet 

In  return  for  the  blessings  she  gives  in  her  largess  unbroken, 

And  a  prayer  from  our  hearts  which  our  lips  can  with  fervor  repeat 
As  the  prayer  of  a  child  at  the  knee  of  his  parent  is  spoken: 

May  we  serve  thee,  0  City  we  love,  so  that  over  the  land 
Our  example  may  shine  to  inspire  a  high  emulation, 

That  honor  and  probity,  industry,  virtue,  expand 

Like  a  tide  sweeping  wide  through  the  populous  towns  of  the 
nation, 

Like  a  Fire  Pentecostal  by  God's  spirit  kindled  and  fanned 
That  flames  in  all  hearts  with  a  deep  and  a  fine  consecration ! 

0  Boston,  fair  City  enthroned  like  a  radiant  Queen, 

From  thy  hills  looking  down  on  the  ship-teeming  plain  of  the 
Ocean, 

May  thy  future  be  bright,  thy  skies  beam  with  light  all  serene, 
Ensured  by  thy  sons'  and  thy  daughters'  unselfish  devotion! 

May  thy  glory  increase  as  the  tale  of  thy  glory  has  been, 


Which  to  read  or  to  hear  swells  the  heart  with  a  sacred  emotion! 


May  ist  Celebration.  243 


MAY    1,    1922. 


The  chronological  observance  of  Boston's  Centennial 
on  May  1,  1922,  intended  by  the  Mayor  and  committee 
as  the  occasion  for  simple  ceremonies  marking  the 
presentation  and  dedication  of  the  memorial  tablet  to 
be  placed  in  Faneuil  Hall  commemorating  this  historic 
event,  and  the  reading  of  appropriate  original  essays 
by  high  school  pupils  chosen  by  the  School  Com- 
mittee of  -Boston,  proved  to  be  of  great  interest  and 
importance,  finally  developing  into  a  splendid  and 
spectacular  celebration  and  attracting  to  Faneuil  Hall 
an  even  greater  throng  than  on  April  19. 

A  motion  picture  record  of  the  event  was  made,  all 
the  national  film  news  weeklies  having  representatives 
present  for  this  purpose,  as  well  as  the  official  city 
photographer. 

Again  the  newspapers  gave  fitting  and  generous 
publicity  to  the  importance  of  the  event,  and  many  of 
the  mercantile  establishments  gave  interesting  window 
displays  of  rare  old  costumes  and  wearing  apparel  of 
100  years  ago,  or  prints  and  pictures  of  that  period. 

The  Mayor's  suggestion  that  the  occasion  presented 
an  opportunity  for  a  more  general  use  of  the  official 
city  flag,  followed  by  an  appeal  by  the  committee  to 
business  establishments,  hotels,  clubs  and  newspapers, 
resulted  in  a  widespread  flying  of  this  beautiful  civic 
emblem,  together  with  the  national  colors,  all  over  the 
city. 

Another  stirring  feature  of  the  day's  exercises  was 
the  general  ringing  of  fire  and  church  bells  at  eleven 
o'clock  a.  m.,  continuing  for  ten  minutes  and  followed 
by  the  pealing  of  church  chimes.  On  Sunday,  April 
30,  many  of  the  churches  throughout  the  city  gave 
special  attention  to  the  city's  birthday  and  its  signifi- 
cance, in  their  regular  services. 

Previous  to  the  Faneuil  Hall  exercises,  which  were 
held  at  noon,  there  was  an  official  flag  raising  at  City 


244  XS22 — Boston — 1922. 

Hall,  where  the  national  and  city  flags  were  flung  to  the 
breeze  before  a  large  and  representative  crowd,  while 
the  Mayor,  surrounded  by  the  committee  and  city 
officials,  briefly  addressed  the  assemblage  after  presen- 
tation by  Chairman  George  W.  Coleman.  A  unique 
feature  of  these  exercises  was  the  "  Pledge  to  the  Flag" 
by  a  group  of  Boy  Scouts  from  the  North  End,  who 
executed  their  military  evolutions  to  the  accompaniment 
of  a  Chinese  Boy  Scout  Fife  and  Drum  Corps. 

One  of  the  largest  audiences  ever  gathered  in  Faneuil 
Hall  greeted  the  Mayor  and  his  distinguished  guests 
upon  their  arrival  for  the  noon  exercises,  during  which 
the  memorial  tablet  was  unveiled  by  the  Mayor's 
daughter,  and  the  following  program  conducted: 

Hon.  James  M.  Curley,  Mayor  oj  Boston,  presiding. 

Orchestral  Selections 11.30  to  12 

Opening  Prayer  .    Rt.  Rev.  Mons.  Arthur  T.  Connolly,  Chaplain 

Anthem,  "America" Audience 

Essay,  "Inauguration  Day,"  Mary  Spurgeon,  Girls'  High  School 

Selection Orchestra 

Essay,  "Some  Aspects  of  Boston  in  1822," 

Paul  G.  Kirk,  English  High  School 
Presentation  of  Permanent  Memorial  Tablet, 

George  W.  Coleman,  Committee  Chairman 

Unveiling Miss  Mary  Curley 

Address  of  Acceptance  ....  Mayor  James  M.  Curley 
"Star-Spangled  Banner" Audience 

The  Director  of  Public  Celebrations, 

J   Philip  O'Connell,  Master  oj  Ceremonies 


EXERCISES     AT     CITY     HALL. 


May  ist  Celebration.  245 


PRAYER. 


We  have  assembled  at  the  invitation  of  our  honorable 
Mayor  to  unveil  a  bronze  tablet  commemorative  of 
the  centenary  year  of  the  inauguration  of  our  beloved 
Boston  as  a  chartered  city.  It  is  but  meet  and  right 
that  we  should  first  of  all  render  sincere  and  heartfelt 
thanks  to  the  omniscient,  omnipresent  and  eternal 
God  whom  angels  worship  and  all  Christian  men 
justly  revere,  for  His  fatherly  protection  and  heav- 
enly blessings  showered  upon  us.  When  asked  by 
men  while  He  dwelt  upon  earth  how  they  should 
pray,  He  answered  them  in  the  words  of  the  old  but 
beautiful  prayer  that  we  have  all  been  taught  at  the 
knee  of  our  ever  to  be  revered  and  beloved  mother. 
This  prayer  is  called  the  "Lord's  Prayer."  In  this 
prayer,  then,  we  shall  address  Him  today: 

"Our  Father,  Who  art  in  heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy 
name:  Thy  kingdom  come;  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread; 
and  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  those  who 
trespass  against  us ;  and  lead  us  not  into  temptation, 
but  deliver  us  from  evil,  Amen." 

O  Lord  of  Hosts,  Father  of  Light,  our  supplica- 
tions hear!  Thou  Covenant  God,  Thy  promises  we 
claim.  'We  plead  no  merit,  but  we  fearless  come  today, 
and  ask  a  continuance  of  Thy  blessings  through  our 
Saviour's  name.  We  one  and  all  beseech  Thee: 
11  Sicut  patribus,  sit  Deus  nobis."     Amen. 


246  1822  —  Boston — 1922. 


ESSAY  —  INAUGURATION   DAY. 


What  a  memorable  day  that  was  in  the  history  of 
Boston!  After  an  agitation  which  had  lasted  for  over 
a  hundred  years,  the  incorporation  of  Boston  as  a 
city  was  voted  for  and  became  a  fact  in  1821.  Her 
first  Mayor  was  inaugurated  in  Faneuil  Hall  May  1, 
1822.  If  such  an  event  rouses  our  interest,  let  us 
peep,  for  a  few  minutes  into  the  diary  of  a  gentleman 
of  that  period  who  visited  Boston  for  the  first  time 
on  the  very  day  of  this  historic  event.  He  is  by 
name  Thomas  Hutchinson,  and  his  companion,  men- 
tioned in  the  diary  as  Dick,  is  Richard  De  Witt  of 
New  York. 

"Rose  betimes.  Dick  and  myself  decided  to  take 
a  stroll  before  breakfast,  and  dine  at  one  of  the  town 
inns  on  our  return.  Knowing  naught  of  the  streets 
of  Boston  we  followed  our  noses  through  an  intricate 
maze  of  narrow,  crooked  lanes  till  we  found  we  had 
been  led  just  where  we  most  desired  to  go.  Before 
us  was  the  busy  market  place,  the  center  of  which 
is  Faneuil  Hall,  serving  as  both  market  and  assembly 
hall.  At  that  hour,  scarce  five  o'clock,  the  square 
was  thronged  with  tradesmen,  farmers,  and  merchants 
who  were  busily  employed  in  setting  out  their  wares, 
before  the  day's  customers  began  to  arrive.  From 
fragments  of  conversation  about  us,  we  gathered  that 
some  political  event  was  to  take  place  this  day,  and. 
upon  inquiring  as  to  the  nature  of  the  forthcoming 
event,  from  a  round-faced,  good-natured  farmer,  he 
looked  us  up  and  down  and  then  scratched  his  head 
reflectively. 

"  'Not  Boston  folk,  be  ye?'  he  asked,  gazing  upon 
us  as  if  undecided  about  the  balance  of  our  minds. 
I  assured  him  with  some  asperity  that  we  could  not 
claim  that  honor,  whereupon  his  face  assumed  its 
natural  expression,  and  he  hastened  to  explain. 

"  'No  offence  intended,  sir,  but  that  ye  should  be 


May  ist  Celebration.  247 

of  Boston,  and  know  naught  of  the  oath  of  office  to 
be  given  our  Mayor  this  day,  seemed  past  belief. 
'Tis  to  be  done  over  yonder  this  afternoon,'  and  he 
pointed  toward  Faneuil  Hall.  As  we  gazed  at  the 
building  for  a  moment  my  eyes  encountered  the  form 
of  my  old  friend  Adrian  Barkus  hastening  toward  us 
through  the  crowd.  After  greeting  each  other  to  our 
mutual  satisfaction,  we  proceeded  to  the  'Inn  of  the 
Green  Dragon,'  there  to  breakfast.  While  partaking 
with  satisfaction  of  a  good  meal  my  friend  reminded 
us  of  the  historic  events  connected  with  the  inn. 
'Here  during  the  days  just  preceding  the  Revolution 
were  held  numerous  political  gatherings.  During  the 
siege  of  Boston  it  was  used  as  a  hospital.  Here,  too, 
were  hatched  some  of  the  most  successful  plots  of  the 
patriots.  Several  of  the  inmates  of  the  Green  Dragon 
were  proven  to  have  taken  part  in  the  Boston  tea 
party,  and  here  under  this  same  roof,'  added  our 
friend,  'Paul  Revere  met  with  a  committee  of  some 
thirty  odd,  to  report  on  the  doings  of  the  tories  and 
the  British  soldiery.'  After  the  war  another  notable 
gathering  took  place  under  this  roof  to  discuss  the 
question  of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 
'Tis  true  that  'Once  in  politics  never  easy,'  for  the 
innkeepers  of  the  Green  Dragon  for  decades  have 
shared  with  their  customers  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
times.  The  present  keeper,  a  burly,  round-faced  in- 
dividual, appeared  to  serve  the  breakfast  with  his 
head  done  up  like  a  Turk,  having  been  the  victim  of 
some  dissatisfied  voters  some  weeks  before.  Having 
satisfied  our  appetites  to  the  full,  we  proceeded  to 
view  the  wharves  under  the  guidance  of  our  friend. 
What  a  bewildering  scene  was  there  presented!  Ves- 
sels loading  and  unloading  quantities  of  foreign  ma- 
terial and  home-grown  produce.  There  were  piles  of 
grain  in  sacks  waiting  to  be  slung  into  the  holds  of 
outgoing  ships  by  numerous  lusty  dock  men;  quanti- 
ties of  fine  stuffs  from  several  foreign  looking  ships 
which  were  rocking  at  their  ease  near  the  wharves. 
Men  ran  hither  and  thither,  on  errands  of  great  im- 
port, while  we  three  alone  stood  watching,  the  only 
spectators  in  the  company.     We  visited  the  historic 


248  iS22  —  Boston — 1922. 

Rowe's  wharf,  the  scene  of  the  famous  'tea  party,' 
which  has  always  been  to  my  thinking  a  deep  disgrace 
to  our  land,  for  it  was  neither  polite,  honest  nor 
economical,  and  the  people  of  New  England  claim 
to  possess  these  qualities  in  abundant  measure.  At 
T  Wharf  we  encountered  a  group  of  sailors  gathered 
about  a  well  for  which  said  wharf  is  famous.  The 
water  is  excellent,  for  we  tasted  of  it.  My  young 
friend  Dick  was  most  reluctant  to  leave  this  scene  of 
activities  so  fascinating  to  him,  but  at  last  after  much 
persuasion,  we  lured  him  away  on  the  promise  of  see- 
ing the  inauguration  of  Mayor  Phillips  in  the  after- 
noon. Our  friend  Adrian  Barkus  proffered  a  most 
kind  invitation  to  luncheon  which  we  gladly  accepted, 
he  promising  to  conduct  us  to  Faneuil  Hall  at  a  later 
hour.  The  remainder  of  the  time  we  spent  in  freshen- 
ing our  clothes,  for  being  from  the  city  of  New  York, 
it  behooved  us  to  do  credit  in  clothes  as  well  as  manners 
to  our  birthplace. 

"After  a  brief  repast  we  set  out  all  three  for  the 
hall,  as  hastily  as  the  gathering  crowd  would  permit. 
Inside,  the  assembly  room  was  filled,  the  galleries  being 
reserved  for  the  ladies,  who,  taking  advantage  of  the 
privilege,  filled  them  to  overflowing.  Upon  the  plat- 
form in  the  center  sat  the  officials,  among  whom  I 
recognized  several  prominent  lawyers  and  a  noted 
Boston  minister,  whose  name  escapes  my  remembrance. 
A  trifle  to  the  left  of  the  platform,  a  group  of  solemn- 
faced  men  clothed  in  formal  black  arrested  my  atten- 
tion. Upon  asking  my  friend  concerning  them,  he 
smiled  and  remarked  drily, 

"  'There  is  sufficient  reason  for  solemnity  on  their 
part.  They  are  the  selectmen,  whose  duty  it  is  to  pre- 
sent the  Mayor  with  the  city  documents,  until  now 
intrusted  to  their  keeping.  But  yonder  comes  the 
Mayor,  so  the  ceremony  will  soon  begin. '  I  looked  with 
great  interest  at  Mr.  Phillips  when  I  fear  my  attention 
should  have  been  upon  the  prayer  delivered  by  the 
before-mentioned  divine.  The  Mayor  is  of  pleasing 
personality,  and  of  ready  address,  as  he  proved  when 
he  delivered  his  short  but  well  chosen  inaugural  address, 
after  a  brief  speech  on  the  part  of  the  chairman  of  the 


May  ist  Celebration.  249 

body  of  selectmen.  He  spoke  'wisely  and  well,'  too 
mild  I  fear  for  my  friend  Adrian's  liking,  for  he  pounded 
my  knee  unmercifully  several  times  during  the  address, 
unfortunately  mistaking  it  for  his  own.  However,  he 
cooled  his  vexation  half  an  hour  after  the  ceremony  was 
over  in  the  tap  room  of  the  Sun-  Tavern,  whence  the 
three  of  us  repaired  to  quench  our  thirst.  I  can  give 
testimony  to  the  effect  that  the  inn  sign  is  not  over 
ardent  in  its  own  praise  when  it  states  in  faded  gilt 
lettering  that  one  can  find  'The  Best  Ale  and  Porter 
Under  the  Sun.' 

"Our  day  in  Boston  ended  appropriately  with  a  walk 
to  the  Common  which  marks  the  limits  of  the  city 
proper.  From  a  vantage  point  on  Beacon  Hill  we 
watched  the  cows  being  driven  home  from  their  pasture 
on  the  Common  by  small  boys  who  made  as  much  noise 
as  the  discordant  jangling  of  the  bells  with  which  each 
cow  was  equipped.  Far  off  beyond  the  treetops  we 
saw  the  marsh  lands  which  have  not  yet  been  filled  in, 
and  to  the  west  as  the  day  declined  we  watched  the  sun 
setting  in  golden  splendor  across  the  Charles,  and  seem- 
ing to  turn  the  water  to  a  dazzling  pathway  bright  with 
promise  for  the  future.  Somewhat  of  this  fancy  must 
have  entered  young  Dick's  head,  for  he  said  half 
dreamily  as  we  turned  to  retrace  our  steps : 

"  T  see  a  great  city  which  is  to  rise  in  later  years. 
It  will  be  famous  for  its  learning  and  its  art.  It  will 
grow  as  all  great  cities  do,  but  one  quality  will  it 
retain  forever  —  its  individuality. '  ' ' 


1822  —  Boston  —  1922. 


ESSAY  — SOME  ASPECTS  OF  BOSTON  IN  1822. 


It  is  my  part  in  the  commemorative  exercises  today 
to  render  an  account  of  Boston  as  it  was  in  the  year 
when  the  government  of  the  city  supplanted  that  of  the 
town. 

Compared  to  the  enterprising  metropolis  which  we 
know  today,  the  Boston  of  1822,  with  its  pump-water 
system,  its  crudely  paved  streets,  and  its  pasture 
ground  on  the  Common,  might  appear  to  be  a  quaint 
and  unprogressive  town.  But  the  Boston  of  a  century 
ago  provided  the  impulse,  set  the  pace,  and  established 
the  broad  and  firm  foundation  for  the  Greater  Boston 
of  1922.  It  was  then,  as  it  still  is  today,  the  birthplace 
of  advanced  political  thought  and  the  home  of  culture 
and  learning.  Much  of  the  greatness  as  a  municipality 
which  Boston  now  boasts  she  may  trace  back  to  the 
time  when  the  thriving  town  by  the  sea  was  granted  a 
city  charter  by  the  Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth. 

When,  one  hundred  years  ago  today,  John  Phillips 
was  administered  the  oath  of  office,  he  undertook  a 
difficult  task.  The  agitation  for  city  government  had 
not  been  without  opposition,  and  there  were  many  who 
predicted  failure.  The  pure  democracy  of  the  town  had 
been  outgrown,  and  the  representative  democracy  of 
the  city,  with  its  complex  system  of  government, 
replaced  it.  Boston's  first  Mayor,  therefore,  adopted 
a  cautious  and  conservative  policy.  His  cannot  be 
called  a  productive  administration.  Few  of  the  effec- 
tive changes  expected  by  the  business  men  had  been 
made,  and  yet  the  administration  of  John  Phillips  was 
an  invaluable  contribution  to  the  development  of  our 
city.  He  organized  the  city  government,  gave  it  a 
sound  basis,  and  sent  forth  Boston  upon  a  course  which 
has  resulted  in  such  remarkable  prosperity  and  growth. 
The  zeal,  integrity,  and  civic  interest  of  the  men  who 
guided  the  destinies  of  Boston  in  its  first  year  are 
exemplified  by  the  fact  that  the  Board  of  Aldermen 


May  ist  Celebration.  251 

served  without  pay,  and  that  there  was  no  corruption 
in  the  city  administration,  although  the  Common 
Council  had  the  power  of  expenditure  as  well  as  of 
appropriation.  In  the  course  of  her  one  hundred 
years  of  life,  Boston  has  had  many  benefactors  to  whom 
she  is  deeply  grateful;  but  there  are  none  who  have 
earned  the  everlasting  gratitude  of  her  people  more 
than  those  founders  of  our  native  city  who  freely  gave 
their  time  and  services  in  the  interests  of  her  future. 

In  1822  Boston  was  ascending  to  the  height  of  her 
national  political  importance  —  a  height  which  she  has 
not  since  attained.  In  the  cabinet  of  the  president  and 
in  the  councils  of  the  nation  her  sons  were  foremost. 
She  called  forth  from  retirement  the  most  illustrious 
son  of  New  England,  gave  to  the  nation  its  most  re- 
nowned orator  and  to  the  Constitution  its  most  ardent 
defender  —  when  Daniel  Webster  was  returned  to 
Congress.  In  the  stormy  years  that  were  to  come, 
when  the  character  and  patriotism  of  New  England 
were  bitterly  and  unmercifully  assailed  in  the  National 
Senate,  the  eyes  of  the  nation  were  fixed  upon  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  world  awaited  a  reply.  The  un- 
answerable response  came  in  the  voice  of  Daniel 
Webster.  Rewarded  beyond  measure  did  Boston  feel 
for  her  action  in  1822,  when  the  representative  of  her 
choice  rose,  wholly  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  with 
statesmanlike  dignity,  making  every  heart  throb  with 
emotion,  delivered  his  masterful  vindication  of  the 
pride,  and  honor,  and  patriotism  of  Old  Bay  State! 

Boston  was  united  in  her  support  of  John  Quincy 
Adams,  then  Secretary  of  State,  for  the  impending 
presidential  campaign.  She  had  the  gratification  of 
seeing  him,  the  second  of  her  native  citizens,  suc- 
ceed to  the  highest  office  in  the  land.  John  Quincy 
Adams  was  the  last  Bostonian  to  serve  as  President 
of  the  United  States. 

Here  in  Boston,  where  the  principle  of  American 
liberty  had  its  origin,  the  stage  was  being  set  for  the 
greatest  political  drama  that  ever  took  place  on  the 
American  continent.  Webster  had  denounced  slavery 
as  a  terrible  evil,  Adams  had  expressed  his  disapproval, 
and   slowly   the   people   of   Boston   were   forcing   the 


2$2  1S22 —  Boston — 1922. 

issue  into  national  politics.  The  task  remained  for 
the  generation  that  was  rising  —  for  Phillips,  for 
Sumner  and  for  Garrison,  who  were  then  in  the  public 
schools  —  to  agitate  the  question  of  human  slavery 
and  to  bring  about  the  greatest  reform  in  the  nation's 
history.  When  the  citizens  of  the  newly-formed 
City  of  Boston  thus  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
Union  the  evils  that  threatened  its  destruction,  they 
were  but  imitating  the  benign  example  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  good  little  town  that  preceded  her. 

While  Boston  men  were  taking  a  leading  part  in 
the  affairs  of  the  nation,  there  were  those'  who,  with 
equal  enterprise,  were  proving  to  the  world  the  genius 
of  her  commerce,  the  supremacy  of  her  ships,  and 
the  courage  and  skill  of  her  seamen.  The  wharves  of 
Boston  were  dotted  with  the  now  bygone  counting 
houses,  the  shore  echoed  with  the  sound  of  the  calker's 
maul  as  the  sturdy  craft  were  constructed  on  the  ways, 
and  the  harbor  was  alive  with  ships  heavily  laden 
with  cargo  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  With  forty- 
three  thousand  inhabitants,  Boston  held  second  place 
among  the  citizens  of  western  hemisphere.  Not  con- 
tent with  the  European  trade  alone,  her  merchantmen 
rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  established  a 
lasting  and  profitable  trade  with  China.  A  con- 
temporary merchant,  giving  an  account  of  the  China 
trade,  stated  that  the  Boston  brigs  were  the  acknowl- 
edged sovereigns  of  the  Pacific.  On  many  of  the 
long  and  arduous  voyages  the  Boston  ships  established 
speed  records  which  were  not  broken  until  the  dawn 
of  the  clipper-ship  era,  when  Boston  rose  still  higher 
as  a  center  of  commerce.  Nothing  served  to  arouse 
more  excitement  in  the  city  of  Canton  than  the  cry 
that  a  Boston  vessel  was  in  port.  The  hardy  Boston 
mariners  who  turned  the  prows  of  their  barks  into 
the  boundless  Pacific  conducted  a  trade  of  honor  with 
the  people  of  the  Far  East  and  not,  like  many  of  their 
rivals  in  other  lands,  an  unholy  and  an  unfair  traffic 
in  drugs.  To  those  men  of  rugged  and  honest  charac- 
ter is  due,  in  no  small  degree,  the  present  relations 
of  mutual  confidence  and  good  will  that  exist  between 
our  own  country  and  the  Republic  of  China. 


May  ist  Celebration.  253 

The  transatlantic  commerce  of  Boston  in  the  year 
1822  was  second  to  none.  The  Boston  and  Liver- 
pool Packet  Company,  the  first  international  ship 
company  in  America,  was  in  that  year  established. 
The  best  ship  that  ever  bore  the  flag  of  that  company, 
and  which  was  still  seaworthy  twenty  years  ago,  was 
a  product  of  the  Boston  shipyards.  An  observer  of 
the  times  reported  that  in  eight  months  of  the  year 
1822,  of  the  one  hundred  American  ships  to  enter  the 
Baltic  ports  alone,  fifty  were  from  Massachusetts 
and  thirty-eight  of  the  fifty  from  their  home  port  of 
Boston.  These  ships,  though  numerous,  were  small, 
it  is  true;  but  the  lessons  which  we  should  learn 
today  are  these:  They  were  constructed  in  the  docks 
at  Boston;  they  were  manned  by  Boston  men;  their 
home  port  was  at  Boston,  and  finally,  the  only  flag 
from  which  they  ever  sought  protection  or  which  was 
ever  hoisted  to  their  topmasts  was  the  starry  emblem 
of  the  American  Union ! 

At  the  time  of  the  inauguration  of  the  city  govern- 
ment the  famous  frigate  "Old  Ironsides,"  the  mother 
of  the  American  navy,  was  about  to  leave  Boston 
Harbor  for  the  last  time.  Constructed,  equipped  and 
manned  by  Boston  men,  she  sailed  from  port  amid  the 
cheers  of  the  public.  It  was  but  a  few  years  later  that 
the  same  venerable  ship  returned,  pronounced  unsea- 
worthy,  to  remain  forever  among  those  whose  fathers 
had  fought  upon  her  decks.  Today  she  is  Boston's 
only  relic  of  naval  triumphs  long  past,  and  the  cherished 
man-o'-war  is  now  moored  beside  the  great  modern 
ironclads  of  that  same  navy  to  which  she  gave  prestige 
and  renown. 

Geographically,  the  Boston  of  a  century  ago  was  far 
different  from  that  of  today.  Where  we  now  have  the 
beautiful  Public  Garden  there  was  a  repulsive  and 
unhealthful  swamp.  Water  flowed  over  what  is  now 
the  Back  Bay.  A  narrow  strip  of  land,  known  as 
Boston  Neck,  connected  the  newly-born  city  to  the 
mainland.  On  State  and  Commercial  streets  were  the 
business  districts  where  were  situated  the  counting 
houses  of  the  merchantmen.  The  fine  old  residences 
of  the  prominent  citizens  were  situated   on  Beacon, 


254  IS22 — -Boston — 1922. 

Summer  and  Tremont  streets.  Beyond  Beacon  Hill, 
in  the  West  End  district,  was  the  chief  center  of  popula- 
tion. Farmers  from  the  neighboring  towns  daily 
brought  their  produce  to  the  market  district  about 
Faneuil  Hall. 

It  was  a  flourishing  community,  possessed  with  a 
spirit  of  local  pride  and  interest  that  made  a  police 
force  unnecessary  during  the  day.  There  was  no 
organized  fire  department,  as  every  Bostonian  con- 
sidered himself  a  servant  of  the  public  and  was  ready 
to  offer  himself  for  service  to  the  community  whenever 
the  occasion  arose. 

With  the  lapse  of  a  century,  the  world  has  seen 
extensive  and  rapid  improvements,  and,  changing  with 
the  times,  the  most  historic  city  in  America  has  grown 
and  flourished  far  beyond  the  fondest  anticipations  of 
the  progressive  men  who  founded  her.  The  virtues 
and  culture  of  Boston  have  expanded  with  the  growth 
of  the  nation  and  have  extended  even  to  the  Pacific 
coast,  which  bears  abundant  evidence  of  the  beneficent 
influences  of  the  many  sons  who  have  left  her  to  seek 
new  fields. 

Whether  or  not  our  native  city  goes  on,  as  we  hope 
she  will,  in  the  path  of  progress  and  prosperity,  her 
children  in  all  time  to  come  may  turn  to  and  review 
with  pride  that  period  in  her  history  when  the  town 
became  the  city,  when  her  sons  stood  first  in  the  eyes 
of  the  nation,  when  her  ships  carried  the  seal  of  Boston 
into  every  harbor  on  the  globe,  and  when  the  name 
Bostonian  was  synonymous  with  civic  spirit,  bringing 
a  worthy  and  merited  distinction  upon  him  who  bore  it. 


GEORGE    W.     COLEMAN. 


May  ist  Celebration.  255 


PRESENTATION  OF  MEMORIAL  TABLET. 


Seven  years  ago,  on  another  historic  day,  the  Fourth 
of  July,  when  the  Mayor  of  the  city  was  absent  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  it  fell  to  my  lot,  as  President  of  the  City 
Council  and  Acting  Mayor,  to  raise  flags,  lead  pro- 
cessions, make  speeches  and  dedicate  a  monument  on 
the  Public  Garden.  Once  again  I  find  myself  in  offi- 
cial relationship  to  this  same  Mayor,  Hon.  James  M. 
Curley,  now  at  the  beginning  of  his  second  adminis- 
tration. The  Boston  Centennial  Committee  enjoys 
the  double  distinction  of  having  been  appointed  by 
Mayor  Peters  of  the  preceding  administration  and  of 
receiving  the  generous  confirmation  of  the  present 
Mayor,  without  the  change  or  addition  of  a  single 
individual. 

The  Centennial  Committee  wishes  to  express  to 
you,  Mr.  Mayor,  our  appreciation  of  your  courtesy 
and  good  will.  We  heartily  wish  that  more  favorable 
circumstances  might  have  permitted  us  to  render  you 
and  the  city  a  much  larger  service. 

It  has  been  our  feeling  that  this  celebration  would 
not  be  complete  unless  it  left  behind  some  permanent 
memorial  of  the  event.  We  are  happy  in  presenting 
to  the  city,  through  you,  a  tablet  which  will  find  a 
permanent  place  on  the  wall  of  this  sacred  building. 
It  will  commemorate  the  anniversary  we  are  now  cele- 
brating and  will  abide  here  as  long  as  Faneuil  Hall 
shall  stand. 

Your  committee  sincerely  trusts  and  earnestly  hopes 
that  your  second  administration,  marking  the  begin- 
ning of  the  city's  second  century,  will  make  a  record 
in  high  accomplishment,  progressive  development  and 
material  growth  such  as  will  be  well  worth  celebrating 
a  hundred  years  hence. 

We  are  proud  and  happy  in  having  the  assistance  of 
your  daughter,  Mary,  to  unveil  the  memorial  tablet 
on  our  behalf. 


256  1S22  —  Boston — 1922. 

MAYOR'S  ACCEPTANCE. 


In  accepting  for  the  City  of  Boston  this  tablet  which 
commemorates  the  100th  anniversary  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  our  first  city  government,  and  which  brings  to 
our  minds  the  realization  of  the  labor  and  sacrifice 
involved  in  the  building  of  our  fair  civic  structure  by 
those  who  have  preceded  us,  it  is  fitting  that  in  con- 
sidering the  history  and  accomplishments  of  the  past 
we  now  take  counsel  as  to  plans  for  the  future. 

The  Boston  of  a  century  ago  and  of  a  century  and 
one  half  ago  was  the  heart  of  America,  from  which  was 
radiated  the  thought  and  inspiration  that  paved  the 
way  for  the  establishment  of  free  government  in  this 
country,  through  which  was  given  to  the  world  the 
American  Republic  and  our  national  emblem  Old  Glory. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  the  movement  for  liberty 
down  to  the  present  hour,  Boston's  contribution,  either 
in  the  hour  of  peace  or  in  the  hour  of  trial,  has  been 
service  and  idealism.  Our  contribution  of  a  material 
character  has  been  limited;  our  contribution  of  those 
worth-while  agencies  that  endure,  that  benefit  mankind 
and  that  cannot  be  measured  in  terms  of  money  ex- 
ceeds the  contribution  of  any  municipality  in  America. 

The  opportunity  for  leadership  in  the  work  of  service 
is  as  great  in  our  day  as  it  has  ever  been  in  the  past. 
The  fathers  and  founders  of  our  government  in  their 
wisdom  gave  to  America  and  the  world  a  Constitution 
whose  compass  has  been  so  perfect  that  it  has  seldom 
been  necessary  to  consider  adjusting  it  in  146  years. 

The  message  that  Boston  sends  forth  to  the  world 
today  is  a  plea  for  the  preservation  of  the  principles 
enunciated  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
set  forth  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  to  the  end 
that,  through  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men  without 
regard  to  race,  creed  or  color,  we  may  be  enabled  to 
steer  the  ship  of  state  free  of  the  shoals  of  industrial 
disputes  which  tend  to  divide  man  and  man  and  free 
our  country  of  the  piratical  flag  behind  which  muster 
those  who  would  scuttle  the  ship  through  racial  and 
religious  hatreds. 


May  ist  Celebration. 


257 


COLOR   BEARERS   AND   USHERS. 


The  following  commissioned  officers  from  the  Boston 
Latin  School  Cadets  officiated  as  color  bearers  and 
ushers  on  April  19  and  May  1: 


James  M.  Curley,  Jr. 
George  C.  Richard. 
M.  James  Flynn. 
B.  J.  Cummin gs. 
Robert  M.  Nelson. 
Leo  E.  O'Hearn. 
Vincent  R.  Panico. 


C.  B.  Taft. 
James  F.  Collins. 
John  J.  Barry,  Jr. 
Edmund  J.  Gallahue. 
John  L.  Keefe, 
John  L.  Fitzpatrick. 
Paul  N.  Holland. 


7806    068 


DATE  DUE 


JAN  18  2)05 


m 


m  i  r 








2M. 


^LlA^lflg 


tii  1  uo 


OEC  1  9  zm 


UNIVERSITY  PRODUCTS,  INC.    #859-5503 


BOC  INC. 

FEB  1  0  1984 

100  ;ZET 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


3  9031   01021562  2 


